Locally-owned business supply stores will face yet another challenge when the third of the "Big 3" office supply chains, Staples, enters the market.

Mike Black, a program manager of public relations, said the company has confirmed the lease for its first Tucson location at Campbell Avenue and Glenn Street.

"At Staples we look for areas where there is a lot of small business driving growth," Black said. "And Tucson definitely gives us an opportunity to help facilitate that growth."

The store is set to be a 20,388-square-foot store, which, according to Black, is a standard size for a Staples.

Black said Staples carries a wide selection of more than 7,000 products. There will be a copy and print center and an easy tech service (in-store computer technicians).

"We are excited to come to Tucson," he said. "There is one confirmed lease now, but we are always looking for good real estate for us."

The excitement will have to be sustained for one year as the company does not expect the store to be open until early 2009.

Staples operates 30 stores in the Phoenix area, one in Casa Grande and one in Sierra Vista. The company claims to have invented the office superstore model when it opened the first in 1986. Staples brought in more than $18.2 billion in sales in 2007 and operates more than 1,400 stores in the United States.

Staples is currently trying to purchase Corporate Express and has offered $3 billion for the company.

Contact Joe Pangburn at jpangburn@azbiz.com or at (520) 295-4237.