The looming closure of consumer- electronics retailer CompUSA will leave customers with one fewer choice when it comes to purchasing a computer and related accessories.
But there are alternatives. Instead of CompUSA, people will turn to the competitors that were a major part of the company’s undoing — Best Buy, Circuit City, Dell and online retailers.
The Dallas-based chain, with 103 retail locations, announced this month it will shut its doors early next year. There are six stores in Colorado — in the Denver metro area and Colorado Springs.
“(Shopping) online kills it,” said Chris Lambrecht, a Golden resident shopping at the Denver store on South Colorado Boulevard on Friday. “The bang for the buck just isn’t there.”
Even though 66 percent of adults surveyed in the U.S. owned a desktop computer, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, many do not have the kind of computer savvy often helpful when shopping at CompUSA. That may have made larger retail chains or websites like Dell’s more attractive.
“This is going to drive the tech-savvy people to the Internet,” said Joe Weingarten, executive director of Macintosh Reseller Association. “CompUSA dealt with a different crowd. The big problem is that they didn’t meet that need.”
Once enjoyed by computer enthusiasts for its wide selection of machines, peripherals and accessories, Comp USA went from being one of the few places to shop for a computer and parts in the early 1990s to one of many options for such items. CompUSA was founded in 1984 as Soft Warehouse, selling directly to business customers. It opened its first retail store in 1985 and changed its name in 1991, according to the company’s website.
Between big-box retailers like Wal-Mart getting into the computer business and discount computer retail sites like and Newegg , CompUSA was virtually drowned out.
“The margins in the computer industry are so thin,” Weingarten said. “If you don’t have a large volume, it’s hard.”
Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a business-strategy group in New York, said Comp USA had “too much overhead, too little scale and too little skill.”
“It was just a matter of time before the business blew up because the competition is better capitalized and highly capable,” he said.
Employees will be laid off when the Comp USA stores close, likely around the end of January. It is unclear how many employees in Colorado will be affected.
“It’s going to be a loss to the consumer,” said Bryan Stanley, an employee at the store.
The closing was little surprise to analysts and tech gurus, many of whom have taken to the Web to voice their feelings — many of them negative — about the chain.
“It’s just part of a tough slide for the original retail specialty store,” Flickinger said. “It’s tough when you’re trying to compete with someone as good as Best Buy on one side and Costco on the other.”
The privately held company was controlled by Mexican financier Carlos Slim Helu’s Grupo Carso SA. Helu acquired Comp USA in 2000, taking the chain private. This month, it was acquired by Gordon Brothers Group LLC, an investment and advisory firm, which announced Dec. 7 that the chain would be liquidated.
Customers hunting for bargains at the South Colorado Boulevard store Friday said they weren’t impressed with the liquidation-sale discounts of 5 to 20 percent.
“The prices are terrible here,” said Tom Bleecker, who was in town visiting from San Francisco and eyeing a MacBook for his friend. “The prices don’t stand up to the competition.”
Kimberly S. Johnson: 303-954-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com
What to know about CompUSA
Warranties and service: Comp USA’s Technology Assurance Plan, the extended-warranty service purchased by customers on personal computers, will be fully honored. Call 1-877-520-8324 or visit extendedprotection/contact Us.html
Gift cards: If purchased before Dec. 12, they will be honored during store-closing sale.
Rebates: Those issued before Dec. 12 or included in any running advertisement will be honored. Manufacturer’s mail-in rebates will be honored by the manufacturer.
Rain checks: Will be honored. If the identical item is unavailable, Comp USA will offer a comparable item at a comparable discount.
Returns: Only purchases before Dec. 12 will be honored.
Slice of the market
Number of U.S. stores for consumer-electronics retailers in 2007:
Radio Shack, 6,000
Best Buy, 822
Circuit City, 652
CompUSA, 103
Ultimate, 32
Micro Center, 21
Source: Company websites
