Business & Technology Editors

    STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 8, 1999--

    Easy Access to High Tech Mailing Products Makes Mailing
    Simple and Convenient for Small Businesses

    Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) and Office Depot have announced a new partnership focused on serving small businesses. Now approximately 700 Office Depot stores nationwide carry the Pitney Bowes Personal Post(TM) postage meter and scale, giving small businesses the versatility to affix postage to envelopes of all sizes quickly and professionally.

The Personal Post(TM) postage meter is a stand-alone mailing system that can be securely refilled with postage online via phone modem in less than 30 seconds, 24 hours a day.

"Small office and home office customers often have more to do with fewer resources, so they're always looking for products that will help them do business more efficiently. We also understand the importance and impact of convenience for this growing sector," said Pat Brand, Vice President of Marketing, Pitney Bowes Office Direct. "Customers can now make one trip to the nearest Office Depot for the Personal Post(TM) postage meter and refill postage online, instead of making multiple trips to their local Post Office for stamps."

"The Personal Post(TM) postage meter is one of the most successful small business technology solutions on the market because it saves small business customers both time and money," said Gary Shweikhart, Vice President of Public Relations, Office Depot. "It's a great addition to our expansive product line and helps deliver one-stop shopping convenience to our customers."

The partnership with Office Depot, the world's largest seller of office products, rounds out Pitney Bowes' distribution to three office superstores, joining Office Max and Staples, which began carrying the Personal Post(TM) postage meter last year.

Pitney Bowes Office Direct has diversified the distribution channels where postage meters have traditionally been available, making products and services available through retail, direct sales, direct mail, direct response TV, along with print, telemarketing and the Internet. This diversification of distribution channels has lead to Pitney Bowes' early and profitable penetration of the SoHo market.

The Personal Post(TM) postage meter is the lead product in Pitney Bowes' expansive portfolio of small business solutions. This includes ClickStamp(TM) Plus and ClickStamp(TM) Online, Internet postage products currently in beta test with the United States Postal Service. Also included are Mail Essentials(TM), a suite of software solutions to simplify the way small businesses create successful mailings, find new customers and better manage existing customers; DirectNET(TM) - a "one stop" Internet-based printing and mailing service; ValueShip(TM) Personal Shipping Solution, software which identifies the most cost-effective and timely way to send packages and overnight mail; and Personal Post(TM) Plus, a new scale weighing mail up to five pounds which connects directly to Pitney Bowes Personal Post(TM) postage meter and automatically sets the meter with the appropriate postage.

Pitney Bowes Inc. is a $4.22 billion global provider of informed mail and messaging management. For more information about Pitney Bowes' full range of services and products, please visit http://www.pitneybowes.com or call 1-800-640-7058. Customers interested in ordering a Personal Post(TM) postage meter or to sign up to beta test one Pitney Bowes' new products can visit http://www.pitneybowes.com/soho or call 1-800-446-6406.

Office Depot is the world's largest seller of office products, operating a total of 753 stores throughout the United States, Canada and Japan, with retail and/or delivery operations in an additional 14 countries worldwide. Office Depot's award winning public U.S. website can be accessed at http://www.officedepot.com or call 1-888-GO-DEPOT.

     --30--lp/ny*

     CONTACT: Pitney Bowes, Inc., Stamford
              Beth Ghiloni, 203/373-6952
              ghilonel@pb.com
              or
              Brodeur Porter Novelli, Purchase, N.Y.
              Paula Gifford, 914/821-2248
              pgifford@brodeur.com

     KEYWORD: CONNECTICUT
     INDUSTRY KEYWORD: INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET
COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED GOVERNMENT PRODUCT