1
      As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 30, 1998

                                                     Registration No. _________

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                                   ----------

                                    FORM S-8
             REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                                   ----------

                               OFFICE DEPOT, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


                DELAWARE                                   59-2663954
      (State or other jurisdiction                      (I.R.S. Employer
    of incorporation or organization)                Identification Number)


              2200 OLD GERMANTOWN ROAD, DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA 33445
                    (Address of principal executive offices)

               OFFICE DEPOT, INC. LONG-TERM EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
                VIKING DIRECT SAVINGS RELATED SHARE OPTION SCHEME
                            (Full title of the plans)

                             MR. BARRY J. GOLDSTEIN
                               OFFICE DEPOT, INC.
                            2200 OLD GERMANTOWN ROAD
                           DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA 33445
                                 (438) 278-4800
           (Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number,
                   including area code, of agent for service)

                                   COPIES TO:
                              Toni B. Merrick, Esq.
                                Kirkland & Ellis
                             200 East Randolph Drive
                             Chicago, Illinois 60601


                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE


Proposed Maximum Proposed Maximum Title of Securities Amount to be Offering Price Per Aggregate Offering Amount of to be Registered Registered(1) Share(2) Price(2) Registration Fee(2) - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stock, $.01 par value per share 5,500,000 shares $32.00 $176,000,000 $48,928 - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Pursuant to Rule 416, this Registration Statement shall be deemed to cover any additional shares of Common Stock which may be issuable pursuant to the antidilution provisions of the plans. (2) This calculation is made solely for the purpose of determining the amount of the registration fee and is made pursuant to Rule 457(h) based upon the average of the high and low sales prices of the registrant's Common Stock as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on November 25, 1998. 2 The purpose of this Registration Statement is to reflect the additional registration of shares of Common Stock of the Registrant to be issued pursuant to the Office Depot, Inc. Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan and shares of Common Stock of the Registrant to be issued pursuant to the Viking Direct Savings Related Share Option Scheme (the "Plans"). INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT Item 3. INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE This Registration Statement relates to 5,500,000 shares of Common Stock, $.01 par value (the "Common Stock"), of Office Depot, Inc. (the "Company") to be offered pursuant to exercise of options pursuant to the Plans. The following documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission are incorporated herein by reference except to the extent that any statement or information therein is modified, superseded or replaced by a statement or information contained in any subsequently filed document incorporated by reference. 1. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year ended December 27, 1997. 2. All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, since the end of the fiscal period covered by the Registrant document referred to in (1) above. 3. All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and shall be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. -2- 3 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the filing requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Delray Beach, State of Florida on November 30, 1998. OFFICE DEPOT, INC. By: /s/ David I. Fuente ----------------------- David I. Fuente Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated on November 30, 1998.
SIGNATURE CAPACITY --------- -------- /s/ David I. Fuente Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive - ------------------------------------- Officer (Principal Executive Officer) David I. Fuente /s/ John C. Macatee President and Chief Operating Officer and - ------------------------------------ Director John C. Macatee /s/ Barry J. Goldstein Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice - ----------------------------------- President-Finance (Principal Financial Barry J. Goldstein Officer) /s/ Irwin Helford Vice Chairman and Director - ----------------------------------- Irwin Helford /s/ M. Bruce Nelson Corporate Executive Officer and Director - ----------------------------------- M. Bruce Nelson /s/ Lee A. Ault, III Director - ----------------------------------- Lee A. Ault, III /s/ Neil R. Austrian Director - ----------------------------------- Neil R. Austrian /s/ Cynthia R. Cohen Director - ----------------------------------- Cynthia R. Cohen /s/ W. Scott Hedrick Director - ----------------------------------- W. Scott Hedrick
-3- 4 /s/ James L. Heskett Director - ----------------------------------- James L. Heskett /s/ Michael J. Myers Director - ----------------------------------- Michael J. Myers /s/ Frank P. Scruggs, Jr. Director - ----------------------------------- Frank P. Scruggs, Jr. /s/ Peter J. Solomon Director - ----------------------------------- Peter J. Solomon
-4- 5 INDEX TO EXHIBITS
SEQUENTIALLY EXHIBIT NUMBERED NO. DESCRIPTION OF EXHIBIT PAGE --- ---------------------- ------------ 5.1 Opinion of Kirkland & Ellis 23.1 Independent Auditors Consent 23.2 Consent of Kirkland & Ellis (contained in their opinion filed as Item 5.1)
-5-
   1



                                  EXHIBIT 5.1
                          OPINION OF KIRKLAND & ELLIS


   2




                                                                     EXHIBIT 5.1




To Call Writer Direct
312 861-2000


                                ___________, 1998



Office Depot, Inc.
2200 Old Germantown Road
Delray Beach, FL 33445

Ladies and Gentlemen:

                  We have acted as counsel to you (the "Company") in connection
with the preparation of a Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the "Registration
Statement") pertaining to the registration under the Securities Act of 1933 of
an offering of an additional 5,500,000 shares of the Company's Common Stock,
$0.01 par value (the "Registered Shares") pursuant to the Office Depot, Inc.
Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan and Viking Direct Savings Related Share Option
Scheme (the "Plans").

                  Subject to the limitations stated in this letter, it is our
opinion that Registered Shares issued by the Company for purchase under the
Plans will upon such delivery and receipt by the Company of all consideration
owed to the Company under the terms of the Plans be validly issued, fully paid
and nonassessable.

                  We have relied without independent investigation upon an
assurance from the Company's Secretary that the number of shares which the
Company is authorized to issue in its Certificate of Incorporation exceeds the
number of shares outstanding and the number of shares which the Company is
obligated to issue (or had otherwise reserved for issuance) for any purposes
other than issuance in connection with options granted under the Plans by at
least the number of shares which may be issued in connection with the Plans, and
we have assumed that such condition will remain true at all future times
relevant to this opinion. We have assumed that the Company will cause
certificates representing Registered Shares issued in the future to be properly
executed and delivered and will take all other actions appropriate for the
issuance of such shares. We express no opinion regarding any shares reacquired
by the Company after initial issuance. Our opinion does not cover any law other
than the Delaware Corporation Law.



   3



                  We do not find it necessary for the purposes of this opinion,
and accordingly do not purport to cover herein, the application of securities or
"Blue Sky" laws of the various states to the offer or sale of the Registered
Shares.

                  We consent to the filing of this letter as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we
come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations of the
Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder.

                                                Sincerely yours,



                                                /s/ KIRKLAND & ELLIS




   1


                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.1






INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT


We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement of
Office Depot, Inc. on Form S-8 of our report dated February 12, 1998 appearing
in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Office Depot, Inc. for the year ended
December 27, 1997.





/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
Certified Public Accountants
Miami, Florida




November 30, 1998