US office supplies group Staples has said that it will close 10% of its stores in North America after a 10.6% fall in sales for the last three months of its financial year.

The chain, which has 1,846 stores in the US and Canada after closing 42 stores in 2013, said that the move will save $500 million.

"A year ago, we announced a plan to fundamentally reinvent our company," said Ron Sargent, Staples' chief executive.

"With nearly half of our sales generated online today, we're meeting the changing needs of business customers and taking aggressive action to reduce costs and improve efficiency."