compusa
gordon brothers will also try to sell the company' s technical services business, compusa techpro, and online business, compusa. com. it would be up to the buyers whether to continue the compusa name .
' compusa inc streamlines operations,' pr newswire, april 7, 2000 .
compusa assets acquired (founded in 1984 as soft warehouse in addison, texas) .
compusa re - opening with 30 new stores, invents
retail 2. 0
compusa operates 103 stores, which plan to run store - closing sales during the holidays .
the compusa chain of consumer electronics stores was sold to the gordon brothers group restructuring firm in december 2007, and most of its 103 outlets were subsequently closed. in january 2008 many of the remaining assets and the compusa brand were sold to systemax, inc. which currently operates 23 compusa stores in florida, illinois, north carolina and puerto rico, as well as an online store, compusa. com. (compusa continues to accept gift cards. )
compusa announces that it will close 126 retail stores by june and restructure its remaining 103 stores. eventually those 103 stores also close. once a major player in the computer retails sales market, compusa was eventually purchased by systemax. systemax now runs 35 stores bearing the compusa name .
one of the compusa' s here in manhattan had the p182 for $ 119 i believe .
compusa was founded in 1984 as software seller soft warehouse, then branched out into computers. it took on the compusa name and went public in 1991. it bought tandy' s computer city chain .
although overall pc sales keep rising worldwide, us - based computer retail chain compusa will be shutting down all its remaining stores at the end of the december holiday season. as announced on friday, the new owner of compusa, a boston - based restructuring and investment firm known as the gordon brothers group, is also looking to sell compusa. com, along with compusa' s techpro technical services business .
gordon brothers group is discussing with different parties the sale of stores in key retail markets and compusa' s other assets, including the internet retail unit urltoken and technical - support - services business compusa techpro .
discussions about the deal with compusa began several months ago between compton and apple interim - ceo steve jobs .
although compusa' s restructuring earlier in 2007 was aimed at streamlining operations, the store closings left compusa without any presence at all in a number of states in the west and midwest, with the remaining stores clustered heavily along the eastern seaboard. compusa sold both of its stores in oregon last spring, for example .
best buy is on the same track that two former train wrecks were on, compusa and circuit city .
desktop critic: compusa: apple’s not - so - superstore, david pogue, macworld, march 1999 .
compusa' s mission is to market goods and services that help customers use and manage information to improve the quality of personal and organizational life. compusa strives to provide the best value in all of the businesses it operates .
mullich, joe,' compusa seeks profit boost,' business marketing, january 1994, p. 3 .
compusa closed more than half its stores this spring and got a cash infusion of $ 440 million to restructure .
i’d gather none of the ceos compusa ever hired had actually been customers of compusa. if they had been, they would have made some more dramatic changes. think about it, why did you ever buy anything at compusa? for me, there was one reason–i needed it fast and compusa had it in stock. if i didn’t need it that day, then i generally bought it online because i could find it cheaper somewhere else. so here’s what i, somebody who’s never been the ceo of any major company and who has little retail management experience, would do to fix compusa .
and fiorentino says compusa can keep its prices low despite the additional overhead costs associated with a physical store. compusa’s inventory now ties into tiger direct and the company offers the same prices whether consumers buy a product online or in a store .
© 2018 jasali 645 realty, llc. all rights reserved. compusa, the compusa logo and urltoken are trademarks of jasali 645 realty, llc and its affiliated companies. this product includes geolite2 data created by maxmind, available from urltoken .
the move by compusa to enlarge its apple presence will not be a situation of robbing peter to pay paul, muench said. he said customers who tend to prefer superstore formats may already have been purchasing apple products from places like compusa .
' compusa names morton chairman in a reorganization,' wall street journal, may 14, 1993, p. b9 .
yes, compusa. the once - bankrupt electronics retailer is making a comeback, with about 30 new compusa stores nationwide and a new strategy that includes aggressive prices, remodeled stores, improved lighting and in - store web access for comparison shopping .
i was at the tanforan compusa in december, and they had nothing good there. half the store was already empty .
the sales are going to suck primarily because anything that compusa could return for credit was returned to the manufacturer / distributor .
forget black friday. for the best deals on gadgets and pcs this holiday season, look no further than your neighborhood compusa .
home > financial articles and q & a; > my son worked for compusa at the time of his death ...
compusa, inc. is a leading operator of computer superstores in the united states, with more than 200 stores in 84 major metropolitan markets. compusa stores offer more than 5, 000 products, including microcomputer hardware, software, accessories, and related items. the company' s operations also include direct sales to corporate, government, and education customers. compusa superstores, each of which have approximately 25, 000 square feet of retail space, offer technical support to their customers, repair and service of merchandise, and training centers. sales via the internet are conducted through a subsidiary named compusa urltoken inc. , which operates the web site cozone. com. compusa also sells build - to - order desktop and notebook personal computers through a subsidiary named compusa pc inc .
' compusa says sales have been growing, margins improving,' wall street journal, december 10, 1992, p. a13 .
strom, stephanie,' compusa chairman ousted by directors,' new york times, december 16, 1993, p. d4 .
but after a reorganization and a buyout in january last year by systemax, a major electronics retailer, compusa is back in business .
creswell, julie,' compusa is killing itself - - on purpose,' fortune, december 20, 1999, p. 279 .
kimelman, john,' compusa: the yellow flag is out,' financial world, june 8, 1993, p. 18 .
compusa closed all of its retail stores shortly after the end of 2007 holiday shopping season. i suppose they could blame the economy, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it was high prices and bad customer service that brought them to their knees. since then, systemax, parent company of the well established tiger direct, has taken over the compusa mail order operation, and slowly begun reopening compusa retail stores .
hisey, pete,' compusa: back to the bottom line,' discount store news, may 20, 1996, p. 15 .
- - - - - -,' compusa starts corporate reorganizing,' new york times, may 14, 1993, p. d3 .
i can' t imagine any reason for compusa to do this unless they were increasing their square - foot profit ,
alton said .
the sale comes amid the financial struggles of compusa' s parent company, mexico - based holding company us commercial corp. sa de cv .
compusa (closed) clarifies details on store closings. any extended warranties purchased for products through compusa will be honored by a third - party provider, assurant solutions. gift cards, rain checks, and rebates purchased prior to december 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale. for those who have a gadget currently in for service with compusa, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners .
the success of compusa was due in part to its finely honed system of merchandise flow. rather than maintaining an expensive network of warehouses and trucking lines, compusa management used computer software to help track inventory and anticipate consumer demand, allowing them to stock the right amount of merchandise in the stores .
- - - - - -,' compusa' s morton weds retail, pcs,' business marketing, june 1993, p. 26 .
what we have seen fail in the past from gateway, compuadd and now compusa seems related to the fact that the stores were simply too big .
forest, stephanie anderson,' compusa' s new boss: damn the torpedoes,' business week, february 14, 1994, p. 38 .
compusa has been rebooted after a major crash in 2008. the company operates about 35 stores, mostly in florida, but also in several other states and puerto rico, as well as an e - commerce site. it sells computers and peripherals, tvs, gaming consoles, cameras, and other electronics and accessories. compusa is a division of systemax, a multi - channel marketer of consumer electronics and digital media technology. in 2008 systemax acquired compusa' s brand, website, and retail outlets. originally a pioneer in big - box computer sales, compusa is reformatting itself as a next - generation retailer .
1. competition. everything at compusa can be bought somewhere else, and probably for cheaper. local computer stores, online stores, office stores (office depot, officemax), electronics retailers (best buy), and warehouse stores (i. e. costco, sam’s club, etc .) are all in on the game. everything compusa sells is a commodity and therefore it’s all about price, putting compusa in a tough spot to begin with .
in a move to bolster flagging sales, apple lands a deal with compusa that will expand its floor space and presentation in the retailer' s superstores .
on the web, circuit city is stepping into social networking communities, whereas compusa has continued to rely on older strategies such as auctioning off refurbished pcs .
all that' s left is product that compusa can' t even return. most of it is probably old and has a high cost on it .
still, the revived compusa is a shadow of its former self. at its peak about three years ago, compusa posted about $ 5 billion a year in sales and had more than 216 stores nationwide. now it posts a fraction of that in sales and has just about a tenth of its former reach .
hey, this looks like a great deal from compusa in spokane: buy a microsoft zune and you get a free $ 15 itunes gift card. wait a minute. itunes? zune? what' s wrong with this picture? note to compusa corporate: itunes songs won' t play on a zune .
berkeley, calif. (marketwatch) - - i was saddened by the timeline announced for shutting down compusa, but wasn' t in the least surprised .
the stores are creepy. compusa typically had guards checking you at the exits to see if you stole anything. this always seemed a bit odd to me .
through 1990, product lines at the compusa superstores consisted largely of ibm clone personal computers, including a private brand line known as compudyne. in 1991, the company persuaded manufacturer apple computer, inc. to allow the distribution of the apple macintosh personal computer through compusa. as apple had never before allowed distribution through discounters, the company regarded this agreement as reflecting its reputation as a national marketing force. soon thereafter, compusa gained the right to sell another major personal computer brand, compaq .
buckler, arthur,' compusa' s morton resigns top posts amid dissatisfaction over profitability,' wall street journal, december 16, 1993, p. b13 .
the concept will be installed at 40 locations before the upcoming holiday season, and will be installed at the remaining compusa superstores within the next three to five months .
compusa approached us and said they wanted to do a better job with apple and we wanted to do a better job with our retailers ,
muench said .
gordon brothers, the company that now owns compusa' s assets, helped the company to sell more than 100 stores this past spring as part of a restructuring move .
in february, compusa said it would shut 126 stores as part of a massive restructuring effort in which it received a $ 400 million cash infusion from an unnamed investor .
compusa is attempting to make a comeback from bankruptcy with 30 new brick - and - mortar stores and a new philosophy they have dubbed
retail 2. 0 .
further evidence that bricks - and - mortar stores are out of touch: our esteemed brothers at the consumerist got a note from reader rick, showing a letter he wrote to compusa after the company refused to budge on a $ 100 price for a linksys network storage drive he found on the internets for $ 84. compusa' s salesperson…
but mike muench, vice president of apple' s u. s. consumer sales, said compusa is not receiving a sweetened deal as a result of installing its
store - within - a - store
concept. compusa will have the same co - op marketing deal as it has had in the past with apple, muench said .
about three months ago, loretta alkalay, a retired florida resident, wanted to get a new hdtv. so she decided to give the compusa near her home a try .
yesterday was the last day for my local compusa. 99% off, walked out with soem accessories and a hp laptop for a grand total of $ 5. 28 .
“stores like circuit city going out does leave an opportunity in the market, ” says fleener. “with less brick and mortar competition around, people will give compusa a chance. ”
dallas - based compusa has struggled for nearly a decade with falling prices on personal computers, its most important product, and competition from big - box retailers such as best buy .
gordon brothers created an affiliate, specialty equity llc, to handle the deal. djm realty, a gordon brothers group affiliate, will review leases of compusa' s store locations .
when the retailer changed its name, added hardware to its previously software - only line - up, and went public in 1991, compusa turned into the largest ce store chain in the us for a while. but during the year 2000, after compusa started floundering, it was taken private by a group of companies owned by mexican billionaire carlos slim helu .
in my opinion, compusa has the worst closing sale in the history of store closings... . just went there yesterday, and most things were still overpriced ...
compusa' s 100 - or - so remaining stores will sell off leftover product wares at discount prices until they, too, close down for good at the end of this year .
syx distribution inc. syx services inc. syx north american tech holdings llc new compusa corp. tek serv inc. software licensing center inc. target advertising inc. streak products inc .
2. carry items people need immediately. what do people need and need fast when they need it? i don’t know the answer myself, but i know that’s why i go to compusa and if most customers are like me then it only makes sense for compusa to focus on those products that are hard to find anywhere else and which people generally need in a hurry .
in a move to bolster flagging sales, apple (aapl) has landed a deal with compusa (cpu) that will expand its floor space and presentation in the retailer' s superstores .
compusa may be going out of business soon. according to bgr, they have no shipments scheduled after february, and their holiday revenue this year is half of last year' s. [
by the end of the decade, desperate times had descended on compusa. another miraculous comeback was needed, and the ramifications of its failure were straightforward.' it' s clear this turnaround has to work,' compusa' s chairman told business week on december 20, 1999.' if it doesn' t, the management has to be changed,' he added. with his back against a wall, halpin announced his plan for recovery, pinning the company' s hopes on an online operation called urltoken and the alteration of compusa' s merchandise mix, which was expected to reflect a greater emphasis on expensive consumer electronics products such as digital cameras, handheld computers, smart toys, and cellular phones. as halpin began implementing his vision, an added twist to the mystery of compusa' s future occurred in march 2000, when a massive, mexico - based telecommunications and retail conglomerate, grupo sanborns s. a. de c. v. , acquired compusa. concurrently, grupo sanborns announced it intended to sell 49 percent of compusa to a consortium comprising telefonos de mexico, san antonio - based sbc communications inc. , and microsoft corp. as compusa charted its course for the beginning of the 21st century, the influence of its new owners remained as unclear as its ability to establish itself as a retail leader .
what is the new compusa? compusa is the place to find the best offers, deals, and coupons on the internet. we don' t have anything to sell you, what we do have is an array of experts combing the internet daily on your behalf. when our team finds something worthwhile, we grade the offer, verify the details and post here for you. privacy policy
consumer electronics retailer compusa said friday it will close its store operations after the holidays following sale of the company to gordon brothers group llc, a restructuring firm. financial terms weren' t disclosed .
the retail stores that don' t sell will be shut down, compusa said in a statement. the 103 stores will remain open during the holiday shopping season and provide heavy discounts on products .
here' s yet another black friday ad, this time from compusa. it' s got loads of stuff in it, including an envision 22 - inch widescreen lcd monitor for $ 150 and
brammer, rhonda,' not - so - super concept? in long haul, compusa' s strategy may not compute,' barron' s, march 9, 1992, p. 12 .
impossible to satisfy customers. i have been to compusa dozens of times and rarely found what i needed. the store cannot carry enough weird cables or esoteric tanks of printer ink; no one can .
computer and electronics retailer compusa announced on friday that it would start winding down its retail operations after being acquired by an investment firm, which is looking to sell the company' s business and assets .
tigerdirect inc. tigerdirect ca inc. tigerdirect retail services inc. global computer supplies inc. global gov / ed solutions inc. infotel resellers systemax puerto rico inc. urltoken inc. compusa retail services inc .
we have invented this idea of retail 2. 0 ,
says gilbert fiorentino, chief executive of the technology products group at systemax, now parent company of compusa. fiorentino is also the founder of tiger direct, a web only electronics retailer and another subsidiary of systemax .
every screen in every compusa store is now connected to the internet and making buying a richer experience for customers ,
he says .
compusa, an early success story among computer retailers, will now cease to exist as a store chain by the end of this year. meanwhile, rivals best buy and circuit city only keep coming on stronger .
my husband contributed to compusa' so 401k plan for 3 years around the same time. i contacted the current owner and got the run around. did you have any luck locating your son' s money ?
privately held compusa, controlled by mexican financier carlos slim helu' s grupo carso sa, said discussions were under way to sell certain stores in key markets. stores that can' t be sold will be closed .
3. carry more products. my previous comment may give the impression i think compusa should cut their product mix down. not at all. in fact, they should probably increase the number of products they carry .
a compusa é uma empresa genuínamente sergipana com sua matriz, escritório de vendas e suporte estabelecidos em aracaju / se. a empresa atua no mercado desde 1993 e conta com uma equipe de profissionais altamente capacitados e atualizados .
the response began in 1997, though it would be only partly successful. steve jobs had not even been installed as official ceo, but he had near total control over the company, especially after he purged the board of directors after his arrival in 1996. jobs cut almost every big box retailer’s ties to the company except for compusa. in exchange for retaining its apple contract, compusa agreed to adopt apple’s “store within a store” concept .
furthermore, all compusa rebates issued before december 12th will be honored and all manufacturer rebates will be honored regardless of their date of issue since they’re handled directly by the manufacturers themselves. all sales after december 12th are considered final and compusa will be honoring the current ad’s prices until the end of the day today. finally, all products that have been brought in for servicing in the tech shop will be fixed and returned to their rightful owners .
- - - - - -,' will compusa, with $ 1. 3 billion in sales, be the next toys 'r' us?' new york times, may 30, 1993, p. f5 .
the in - store web access may be the biggest gamble, since it raises the possibility that you might use a compusa floor model to find a better deal on urltoken for the very computer you’re using to get that information .
during the wind - down, weinstein and stephen gray, managing partner at crg partners, will run the company. the chain' s current chief executive, roman ross, will serve in an advisory role, compusa said .
perhaps you’re as surprised as i am that compusa is going out of business, and perhaps, like me, you become less and less surprised the more you think about it. here are some of the more obvious reasons :
compusa, a wholly - owned subsidiary of systemax inc. , has appointed enas raynor as its new vice president of business development. ms. raynor most recently held a variety of senior executive positions with circuit city .
compusa = tigerdirect = systemax = shady business practices, false advertising and a rebate rip - off scam of unbelievable magnitude. i won' t ever buy anything from tigerdirect or any of it' s affiliates because of this .
and as someone who used to work in the tech shop at compusa, i can tell you that some of those techs are overworked and underpaid and i hope they find great jobs. it’s thankless work sometimes but it’s great experience if you like working on computers. i always told anybody who wanted to run their own in - home computer support business to go work in the tech shop at compusa for six months and you’d see all there is to see .
less than two years after insolvency loomed, compusa could justify developing ambitious expansion plans. with 105 stores in operation by mid - 1996, the company announced it would add 25 units in 1997 and another 35 units in 1998, aiming for a projected total of 200 stores by the end of the decade. an even bolder bid toward expansion had been made earlier in 1996, when compusa attempted to purchase tandy corporation' s 100 - unit computer city chain. the deal fell through, however, only to be revived months later when negotiations resumed. eventually, in august 1998, compusa completed the windfall deal, purchasing one of its most nettlesome rivals for approximately $ 175 million. the company appeared destined to blanket the nation with its stores, but not long after the computer city acquisition was completed, halpin found himself occupying as tenuous a position as he had occupied only a few short years earlier. compusa, for the second time in six years, was suffering from profound problems .
the basic pattern that compusa (closed brick - and - mortar stores in 2007) and circuit city (closed stores in 2008) followed was: first select stores were closed, then more were closed, then all stores were shuttered or sold off .
after it died, compusa was bought by tigerdirect, and here are some of the first pictures of the freshly awakened pc retailer. even better, the zombified store is reported by reader martin b. to be better than its pre - undead version :
wow this story about compusa is just a huge cry fest about how little baby tony didn' t get his way. waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh! !! the customer is not always right, and people who are inconsiderate to others do not deserve good customer service .
in december 1991, compusa completed an initial public offering of its shares. trading began at $ 15 and within a few months reached a high of $ 40 as investors leaped at the chance to buy into the burgeoning company. losses reported in the prior year were attributable to control issues, and compusa' s sales continued to increase. by the end of 1992, compusa operated 36 superstores across the country and had plans to add 12 more over the next six months. the company also introduced training centers in most of its stores, offering computer courses to its customers that generated nearly $ 700, 000 a month, most of which was profit, helping offset low profit margins caused by heightened competition in the industry. the company' s sales for 1992 reached $ 820 million .
morton' s replacement was compusa' s president and chief operating officer james halpin, who had come to the company six months earlier from the home base home improvement retail chain. halpin oversaw the last weeks of the fiscal second quarter in which sales surged 65 percent and the company posted a loss of $ 5. 5 million. he agreed that expenses had gotten out of hand. rather than trimming expenses by slowing the company' s growth, halpin' s plan included out - sourcing assembly of compudyne computers, centralizing inventory management, and consolidating the management structure by eliminating several executive positions. with these measures, halpin hoped to restore compusa to profitability, facilitating his plan to open 30 new stores by june 1995, which would bring the total number of compusa superstores to nearly 80 .
after finding quick success in the first several years after its founding in 1984 as software superstore soft warehouse, compusa has faced dwindling fortunes ever since the mid - 1990s, due somewhat to declining pc prices but mainly to a growing inability to cope with burgeoning competition .
with the exception of emergencies, i haven’t shopped in a compusa retail store in about eight years. in this case, i define “emergencies” as best buy being out of the item i need, and mail order not being an option because i needed it immediately .
the new compusa has more goodies than competitors but... . these are the cheap crap that wont sell online (cpu coolers, fans) and their selection is much less than that of their equally crapy website. honetly urltoken is horrible. all online vendors should look at their website and compare it to newegg. getting around, details and the overall of how a website works says something about the company you are giving your money to. tigerdirect tells me they are a mess like their new venture (compusa) .
about a month ago oschler found a compusa store near him running offering 48 - hour special deals .
they seem to be doing a lot of that ,
he says. oschler bought a novint falcon gaming mouse for $ 99 that otherwise retails for $ 180 .
by the end of the 1990s, compusa was adrift financially again. the company reported an operating loss of $ 54. 2 million in june 1999, with analysts projecting a $ 22 million loss on declining sales in 2000. in response, the company' s stock value
i had to replace a hard drive in a relative’s computer last week, so i decided to give the new compusa a try. the entire shopping experience was refreshingly different from the old compusa. employees were helpful. merchandise was easy to find. prices were competitive. and, there was no annoying countdown to 9: 00 p. m. , a fact which seemed to irritate a couple of employees that i overheard. employee # 1 “you know what time it is? ” employee # 2 “yeah, i know what time it is…” .
the sales failed to roll in. jobs and his executives decided that they didn’t have enough control over the presentation of apple products. on top of that, the store within a store was located in the back of compusa stores, where foot traffic and sales were the lowest .
flouting the standards set by big box retailers, apple created a very positive user experience by investing very heavily into a space. where compusa had row upon row of notebooks lined up on utilitarian shelving, apple hired noted design firms and architects to make their space inviting and warm .
gordon brothers will
initiate an orderly wind - down
of each of the stores, the company says. that' s great news for consumers looking for bargains. compusa will remain open through the holiday shopping season, presumably with
everything must go !
- style signs .
systemax, based in port washington, new york, has substantial operations in south florida. its brands include tigerdirect, circuit city and compusa. the fiorentino brothers founded the company in coral gables that became tigerdirect, and they later became executives at systemax when it purchased tigerdirect in 1996 .
despite a string of recent industry catalysts such as microsoft' s vista and apple' s leopard, which have helped spurred pc sales for other retailers despite falling prices, compusa hasn' t shown a profit since 2005. that year, its revenues amounted to $ 4. 6 billion .
historytoday, entre is proud to be 1 of 11 original locations that migrated to an independently owned and operated business, out of the original 350 franchises throughout north america. computerland and microage are brands of the past. compusa continues to reduce its presence nationally and recently closed over 120 locations .
we were in the area close to compusa, and saw guys standing in the median strips with samwhich boards announcing the last days of the store. stuff in now 40 - 60% there. this one will be closing in 12 days. the only thing i bought was 2 magazines .
first of all -
would have
not
would of
and
should have
not
should of
... for pete' s sake it' s not that hard. second, the reason they want to chase you out at 9 is because they don' t want to pay their employees until 9: 15 - it blows their budget. and i would like to see for myself a new compusa - i agree with the writer that the old compusa was ridiculously expensive for most stuff unless you were willing to deal with a mail in rebate .
the next time you’re in micro center or even best buy. maybe a delicate whiff of register ink or a deeply discounted printer cable — whatever the case may be, you’ll get little reminders that hey, compusa may not be here in our physical world any more, but it’ll always be around .
as a result of the deal, compusa will increase the amount of floor space dedicated to apple products and staff the
store within a store
area with apple - trained employees. this area also will feature displays and merchandising promoting the troubled computer maker' s national advertising campaign ,
think different .
are you serious? why are you always shopping at an electronics store around 9. employees have other commitments in life. you have no respect for other' s people time. i used to work at compusa back in the day and people who we let stay in the store after 9pm would remain there for another 30 - 45 minutes after the store has closed (i assume you' re one of them). yes, compusa prices were higher (way too high, i agree) but the knowledge the people had far exceeded bestbuy. people would come in to get informed and then go buy it at bestbuy .
if compusa can survive through the recession and manage its costs—rent, salaries, inventory–the chain can hope for a future, says fleener. as other big box retailers disappear, consumers are looking for alternative places to go to and the thrill of walking into a store and looking at products is not easily replaceable for shoppers .
so now my hat is off to all the compusa employees who have worked so hard for so long. i know it’s a tough company to work for sometimes but i personally made some great friends there and i think (hope) i can speak for everyone here when i sincerely wish you the best of luck .
has been floating around all week, the wall street journal reports compusa has been sold to a liquidation firm, effectively putting the company out of business. the move is largely based on declining sales, with the company speculated to only do $ 1. 5 billion in sales this year (compared to $ 4 billion…
slim helu, who also operates retail businesses in latin america, poured about $ 2 billion into compusa since 1999, the journal said. slim helu also held a 9. 2 percent stake in circuit city, but sold off his share after an unsolicited bid to acquire the company was rejected by a circuit city board .
ben over at the consumerist has a tip that compusa, our favorite computer retailer if this were the mid 90s, is closing down 100 stores. that doesn' t sound like a huge number, for a nationwide chain, but considering they only have 229 stores, it means they' re in some big trouble .
despite these positive changes, apple was still stymied in the presentation of its products. the company had control over its new online store and through its catalog, but like most other consumer electronics companies (with the notable exception of dell), it was reliant on big box retailers like compusa and sears to sell the mac .
say you are in a compusa store trying to decide if that big plasma tv is the one you want. just tap the keyboard in front of the screen and go online to check out the specs and reviews an even the recommended mounting brackets. there’s also custom information for that particular store, such as how many are in stock .
it' s always sad when a store you used to frequent goes out of business, but how about when that store used to mark up its prices like mad? things become slightly less sad. nevertheless, this desolate scene at a portland compusa definitely brings a slight tear to our eye. reader russ went in for some
last…
the embattled electronics retail chain was dealt its final blow friday when it was sold to specialty equity, an affiliate of private equity firm gordon brothers group. terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the immediate result is that specialty equity will close all 103 compusa stores in the united states, according to a press release issued late friday .
once part of the big three electronics retail stores in the country, compusa filed for bankruptcy two years ago. it was not alone: high overheads and the inability to compete with low online prices forced companies such as circuit city and ritz camera into bankruptcy, too. meanwhile, online players such as amazon, urltoken and newegg have been growing .
we want to be an active apple advocate ,
said hal compton, compusa' s president .
we think that because of their loyal customer following, where apple business has been soft and declining, we are starting to see that turn around and pick up. they have great products and we can help apple gain market share .
the manager did have a problem with doing an exchange. “you should have bought our service policy” he said, with a self righteous attitude. so i went to the best buy across the street, bought a replacement drive, and only went back to compusa when i was out of options. and even then, it was always a hassle .
while 35 percent of compusa' s sales were to corporate buyers in 1991, a growing market of home computer users also fueled the company' s expansion. in the early 1990s, an estimated 75 million americans were using personal computers, and users were increasingly willing and able to install and maintain their own equipment without deferring to a computer expert. moreover, dramatic increases occurred in the number of americans either working from computers in the home or running home - based businesses as their primary occupation. catering to this new market, compusa provided free information pamphlets throughout its stores to help consumers better understand product capabilities, and the stores featured low prices that were particularly appreciated by small business and home users .
before the official us launch, compusa has one available for $ 779. the good news is that it' s unlocked, so you can use it on both at & t and t - mobile, and quad - band, so you can take it just about anywhere where gsm goes. it' s a nice phone, though kinda slow in…
fill a computer store with a bunch of geeky - but - not - geeky - enough high - school students and you end up with a lot of frustrated customers. on average, i think compusa employees were able to answer about 10% of my questions. if i go to a computer store i want nerds who know more than just video games .
in 1993, compusa decentralized its corporate structure in preparation for future growth. nathan morton was promoted from president to chairperson and ceo, replacing ronald dubin. morton divided the company into three operating units responsible for the eastern, western, and central areas of the united states. an international unit was also formed to research expansion into canada, mexico, and europe .
our trigger - happy friends at compusa have taken the veil off nvidia' s unannounced geforce 8800 gts card. what makes this new card stand out from the pack is that rather than carry a full 512mb of ram on board, it settles for 320mb, which makes it cheaper. $ 349 kinda cheap to be exact. the card is slated to come out…
my son worked for compusa at the time of his death 5 - 12 - 00. unknown to us at the time he was involved in their 401k program. a nephew of ours just brought it to our attention now almost 13 years later. we saved our son' s things and found an old pay slip from 2 months before his death and he was inde
halpin quickly asserted himself, orchestrating a remarkable turnaround that soon had industry observers applauding the resurrection of compusa. as he had initially announced, compusa' s corporate structure was trimmed, purged of posts deemed superfluous. operating costs were slashed and the company' s merchandising mix was revamped, marking the exit of products such as ready - to - assemble furniture to make room for higher - profit computer accessories. by mid - 1996, the company was preparing to announce record sales of $ 3. 5 billion and, more impressively, record profits. compusa' s chief operating officer, hal compton, described the influence of halpin' s leadership in an interview with discount store news on may 20, 1996.' in august of 1994,' he said,' our stock was at 6, we' d lost $ 20 million in the previous year, and we were completely out of cash. a year and a half later the stock is soaring [ nearly $ 35 per share at the time ], we' re reporting record profits and we' re sitting on $ 300 million in cash.'
well... i live close to 2 compusa checked the one i rarely go to and they are by 60% on some stuff... ... lcd - plasma tvs are now 40% furniture - tv stands are 60% and they still have lots of em so maybe they might drop 50% soon and that would be a really good deal .
that service is optional for companies to use (it' s legitimate, just not required). it' s also not a government agency like the name
the national registry of unclaimed retirement benefits
implies. if your search on this site doesn' t produce results, don' t give up. it could just mean that compusa didn' t use this service .
the incident that led to my eight year boycott was a hard drive failure that happened just a couple of days beyond the 30 day return period. i took the drive to compusa customer service, explained the situation, and the customer service rep said something to the effect of “it’s a $ 300 purchase, i don’t see why the manager would have a problem with doing an exchange. ”
carlos slim helu, the chairman of grupo carso, which holds a majority stake in us commercial corp. sa de cv, was looking to sell his share in compusa with the retailer struggling, according to the wall street journal. the company approached rivals circuit city stores, micro electronics and systemax to take over the store and its operations, but no deal was struck, the journal said .
1. smaller, cheaper display areas. show space is expense and people don’t care. that’s why people shop at costco. cut costs by shrinking the overall size of stores and by storing inventory more efficiently. compusa should be a small retail store with 3, 000 - 5, 000 sq ft. of space, not 20, 000 +, and they make poor use of overhead space .
my son worked for compusa at the time of his death 5 - 12 - 00. unknown to us at the time he was involved in their 401k program. a nephew of ours just brought it to our attention now almost 13 years later. we saved our son' s things and found an old pay slip from 2 months before his death and he was inde | financial questions and answers | brightscope
4. lack of leadership. i couldn’t tell you who any of compusa’s ceos has been, but when i read “the chain went through several ceos and tried different turnaround strategies” i know there’s a leadership problem. i’m not necessarily talking about the ceos either, the problem could lie with the board, but in all likelihood it’s a combination of ceos who lack good ideas and the commitment and passion to make them happen .
entre’s business model was being challenged in the late 1980’s, with the market saturation of franchises and retailers like compusa and best buy. the entre executive team had the vision that corporate clients and large organizations would have a growing need for a third party support organization to assist with projects, repairs, service, and large installations. in addition, for some mid size businesses, entre could be offered as an outsourced information technology department .
wtf is wrong with people these days? everyone is so inconsiderate and has this inflated sense of entightlement. what do you expect walking into a store near closing time? these people have been working for many hours on their feet and want to go home. i' m sure at places like this there are plenty of teens working who can' t even drive and have people picking them up. not only are you wasting their time but you' re also causing their parents or whoever is picking them up to sit there and wait. this whole article is just a cry fest about how little baby tony didn' t get his way. compusa prices higher than online? of course, it' s called supply and demand. if you want / need something for your computer right now, you go to compusa. if you want it cheaper you buy it online and you wait 2 - x days depending on your shipping. it is true that their prices were kind of high compared to other retail stores before the mass closings, but before there were best buys there was only really compusa for computer parts. i guess none of the higher ups felt they needed to try to compete with best buys or maybe they simply couldn' t. the customer is not always right and customers who are inconsiderate do not deserve good customer service .
in spite of the company' s expanding sales territories, however, profits lagged. typical quarterly sales increases of 60 percent failed to generate similar increases in net income, and during the first quarter of 1993, compusa reported a 65. 8 percent increase in sales and overall losses totaling $ 986, 000. operating expenses associated with opening new stores as well as high interest expenses contributed to the loss. at a board meeting in december 1993, morton resigned .
compusa president jim halpin said that apple products would be his top priority, but less than a year later his staff was grumbling about halpin’s management abilities, and he was on his way out. suzanne kapner, a journalist with the street, was told by one of his executives, “we often didn’t have systems or infrastructure to get things done. ” halpin was sacked, and apple products languished, despite new gimmicks that increased staff commissions on products from the store within a store .
approximately 15% of each compusa store would be set aside for mac hardware and software (including non - apple products) and would play host to a part - time apple salesperson. the apple areas featured displays designed by the same architectural firm jobs used to create his stevenote halls, eight inc. the concept distanced apple products from ill - maintained displays and often “tragically - ill - informed” sales staff (subscription required) that actively steered consumers towards pcs because of its ignorance of macs .
oh boy... looks like compusa has changed hands numerous times since then. see here for the timeline: urltoken you might try calling their current owner, systemax, to see if the account is in their 401k plan, or if they might have any further information. the headquarters is 516 - 608 - 7000, and you' ll likely be transferred a number of times. explain the situation and say you need to speak with someone in benefits. you may also have difficulty if a beneficiary was not designated .
ieee introduced 802. 11 wifi network in june microsoft releases internet explorer in september sub 1, 000 are being manufactured to be sold to people for less than 1, 000 microsoft is working on their own version of their search engine computer timeline 1997 dell and gateway are selling built to order computers and compusa joins facebook is launched on march 28 microsoft invests on apple computer inc. and agrees to continue creating software for apple in exchange apple sets microsoft internet explorer as it' s main choice for its internet website. bill gates is now the richest businessman
compusa was a retailer and reseller of consumer electronics , technology products and computer services . its headquarters were in miami , florida . compusa , inc. was a wholly owned subsidiary of u.s. commercial corp s.a.b. de c.v. and indirectly controlled by a common shareholder , carlos slim . on december 7 , 2007 , an affiliate of the restructuring and disposition firm gordon brothers group , specialty equity , bought the company . systemax purchased the compusa brand , 16 retail locations and other company assets in january , 2008 . systemax operated compusa retail stores in florida , texas , georgia , illinois , delaware , new jersey , north carolina , and puerto rico , as well as compusa.com , a retail website and a dedicated catalog site for businesses . on november 2 , 2012 , systemax announced that it would drop both the compusa and circuit city storefront brands , consolidating their businesses under the tigerdirect brand . 
compusa was a retailer and reseller of consumer electronics, technology products and computer services. its headquarters were in miami, florida. compusa, inc. was a wholly owned subsidiary of u.s. commercial corp s.a.b. de c.v. and indirectly controlled by a common shareholder, carlos slim. on december 7, 2007, an affiliate of the restructuring and disposition firm gordon brothers group, specialty equity, bought the company. systemax purchased the compusa brand, 16 retail locations and other company assets in january, 2008. systemax operated compusa retail stores in florida, texas, georgia, illinois, delaware, new jersey, north carolina, and puerto rico, as well as compusa.com, a retail website and a dedicated catalog site for businesses. on november 2, 2012, systemax announced that it would drop both the compusa and circuit city storefront brands, consolidating their businesses under the tigerdirect brand.
compusa was a retailer and reseller of consumer electronics, technology products and computer services. its headquarters were in miami, florida. compusa, inc. was a wholly owned subsidiary of u.s. commercial corp s.a.b. de c.v. and indirectly controlled by a common shareholder, carlos slim. on december 7, 2007, an affiliate of the restructuring and disposition firm gordon brothers group, specialty equity, bought the company. systemax purchased the compusa brand, 16 retail locations and other company assets in january, 2008. systemax operated compusa retail stores in florida, texas, georgia, illinois, delaware, new jersey, north carolina, and puerto rico, as well as compusa.com, a retail website and a dedicated catalog site for businesses. on november 2, 2012, systemax announced that it would drop both the compusa and circuit city storefront brands, consolidating their businesses under the tigerdirect brand.