What's In A Name?

This week office supply chain Office Depot announced they're buying rival office supply chain Office Max, sending shockwaves throughout the industry.

This merger will have far-reaching consequences nationwide and I'll no doubt even feel the repercussions right in my own home. With Office Max out of the picture, where am I supposed to purchase my office supplies? I'll only have Office Depot, Staples, Target, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts and all the various grocery and independently owned stationery stores left in the area. Oh, and the internet. This merger is going to severely limit everyone's office supply choices.

Many are wondering what this newly merged entity will be called. I've taken the liberty of piecing together a few of the most likely choices:

The easiest path would be to keep the current Office Depot name intact, but cobble it together from the existing corporate logos. The Office Depot management might not appreciate the Office Max half of the logo appearing first though... 

Let's try it the other way around. Advantage: the Office Depot half of the logo now appears first. Disadvantage: Eh, it's now the name of the losing team. Probably not gonna fly with the suits upstairs.

Now we're talking! This design keeps elements of both logos (for legacy purposes) and there'll be no doubt as to what kind of store it is! No CEO on either side could argue with that logic!

This one's my personal favorite. It's got a kind of film noir-ish quality, like the name of a hard-boiled, take no guff detective. Of course it doesn't tell you anything about what they sell, but since when has the name of a store ever had to indicate what's sold inside (I'm looking at you, "Best Buy").

I have a gut feeling though that you'll be seeing this sign in front of all Office Depots come this time next year...