Office Supply

It costs about $15,000 to open an office supply store, making it easy to get started at the retail level.

About 1,500 companies produce office supplies in the United States, according to a recent study released by the National Office Products Assn. based in Alexandria, Va. Most companies are quite small, reporting under $10 million a year in sales.

There are four large national wholesalers and about 500 regional wholesalers. The nation has 12,000 to 14,000 office products dealers. About 8,000 of them specialize in office supplies, according to the study, which was prepared by the Wharton Center for Applied Research. The others focus on furniture and other products.

Bosses, Beware! The average employee uses $409 worth of office supplies every year, according to the National Office Products Assn.