ThinkSmart launches into US

West Perth-based ThinkSmart Ltd has executed an operating agreement with global office products retailer Office Depot to launch its RentSmart rental finance product in the United States.

Under the agreement, ThinkSmart and Office Depot plan to pilot the RentSmart product in Office Depot's retail stores in Florida before commencing a full roll out across the United States in 2008.

"We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Office Depot to bring our unique small business financing solution to the US," said ThinkSmart managing director and CEO, Ned Montarello.

"Office Depot is a natural fit for our B2B product and will expose our service offering to the 23 million small businesses in the US, many of whom depend on Office Depot every day for all their office and technology needs."

"This is simply a massive growth platform for our business which builds upon our very successful launch in the UK and continental Europe and significantly escalates our presence as a major international player in the sales financing market," added Montarello.

ThinkSmart currently has Letters of Intent with two major US funding institutions for which it is currently in negotiations to reach final agreement.

Office Depot has more than 1,200 retail store locations in the United States, annual global sales of more than US $15 billion, and operations in 43 countries.