Katie MarsalCompUSA, a computer and electronics retailer that has served as an Apple partner since the 90's, plans to close more than 50 percent of its stores over the next few months as part of a comprehensive restructuring strategy.
"Based on changing conditions in the consumer retail electronics market, the company identified the need to close and sell stores with low performance or non strategic, old store layouts and locations faced with market saturation," said CompUSA chief executive Roman Ross.
Ross said the process began last week with the closing of four CompUSA stores and will proceed to a total of 126 U.S.-based locations over the next 60-90 days in an effort to help the ailing retailer "focus on initiatives that enhance its top performing locations."
For Apple, the store closings will represent a near 2 percent immediate decline in its number of worldwide Mac distribution points. CompUSA locations have long featured Apple boutiques, or "stores within a store," that serve to prominently display and market the computer maker's personal computers.
Conversely, the restructuring at CompUSA should free up a number of Apple Solution Consultants (ASCs), which the Mac maker could then transition to its emerging store-within-a-store concepts at trendier Circuity City and Best Buy locations around the country.
In a report published this past September, AppleInsider noted that Apple was considering a move that would pull its trained ASCs from the deteriorating CompUSA boutiques and reassign them to its ongoing Circuit City pilot program.
Following the store closures, CompUSA said it will maintain operations at 103 stores in 39 states and Puerto Rico. The retailer will also continue to offer products and services at 1-800-CompUSA and online at compusa.com.
Update: A list of remaining stores can be seen here.
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
Andrew O'Hara
William Gallagher
70 Comments
Bummer. That's our only Apple Store in my city. Hopefully this one doesn't close or I guess it's time to invest in a true Apple Store to open up here.
Wow, more stores. They did this about a year ago and the one in my town closed then. Let's hope the last one left in the KC metro will stay open...not that I ever go there. \
I say so long suckers! The one here tries to scheme all the time. A while back they had G4 laptops selling for the same price as the new Intel laptops. They don't TELL the customer that there are newer laptops available for pretty much the same price, you just have to know that there are Macbooks now. Assholes.
Here is the master list of the remaining stores that won't be closed:
http://www.compusa.com/locations/store.asp
My first reaction is to be disappointed in this, but then I realize that I haven't entered a CompUSA in probably 4 years. I guess that's what happens when a store lags behind in a "saturated" market.
They also do not stock well, I was looking for a wireless keyboard since I already bought the wireless mouse and all I saw was the wired keyboards, I figured let me check all of them out and they had 1 wireless keyboard all the way in the back yet no SKU for it on the shelf.