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CompUSA, Falling to Competition, to Shut Down After Holidays

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by ndnguy85, Dec 8, 2007.

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  1. ndnguy85

    ndnguy85 Contributing Member

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    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aomuLvfkNzTY&refer=home


    Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- CompUSA, the computer retailer that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim owned since 2000, will shut its doors after 23 years, succumbing to competition from Best Buy Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

    Restructuring firm Gordon Brothers Group LLC bought the chain for an undisclosed sum and will sell or close its 103 stores after the U.S. holidays, CompUSA said yesterday. The 67- year-old Slim, Latin America's richest man, failed to turn around CompUSA after investing more than $1.5 billion in the chain over eight years.

    ``An orderly and expedited wind-down and asset sale process is the best option for CompUSA and its creditors at this juncture,'' Bill Weinstein, a principal at Gordon Brothers, said in a statement. Weinstein will serve as interim president of CompUSA.

    Founded in 1984, CompUSA focuses on computer-related products for small companies and individuals. The chain, acquired by Slim in 2000, shut more than half of its stores earlier this year.

    CompUSA was a unit of Slim's U.S. Commercial Corp. SA, which had sales last year of 37.8 billion pesos ($3.5 billion).

    Richfield, Minnesota-based Best Buy, the biggest U.S. consumer electronics retailer, had revenue of $35.9 billion last year. No. 2 Circuit City Stores Inc. had sales of $12.4 billion.

    Boston-based Gordon Brothers' DJM unit helped Discovery Channel Stores, Bombay Co. and Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. sell properties. It plans to sell CompUSA's TechPro technical services division and CompUSA.com as well.

    CompUSA will discount items this month to get rid of inventory, Alex Stanton, spokesman for Gordon Brothers, said in an interview. He declined to comment further.

    ``We made a mistake with management,'' Slim said at a news conference in Mexico City in March.
     
    #1 ndnguy85, Dec 8, 2007
  2. Dave2000

    Dave2000 Member

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    for the record, their discounts suck

    back when they closed like 10 of them in April/May, they didn't have jack but 10 year old technology stuff, like chargers for Nokia 5190.... :rolleyes:

    but i guess its worth a look regardless, there are only 2 stores left i believe, the galleria and the one off of Westhimer/Beltway 8
     
    #2 Dave2000, Dec 8, 2007
  3. Yaozer

    Yaozer Member

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    I'm gonna go have a see. Maybe I'll have a see today after the game.
     
    #3 Yaozer, Dec 8, 2007
  4. A_3PO

    A_3PO Member

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    They weren't relevant anymore and I haven't bought anything there for years. But I thought Circuit City was struggling even more.
     
    #4 A_3PO, Dec 8, 2007
  5. Uprising

    Uprising Member

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    I used to love CUsa...until I found newegg.com

    I've gotten some damn good deals the last few years. I signed up for Cingular there and got $350 instore credit.

    Got an xbox 360 for $99 a few years ago, sold if on ebay for $300.

    Got a Desktop, printer, and monitor for $199 a couple of years ago too. Kick ass deal.

    RIP C-USA.
     
    #5 Uprising, Dec 8, 2007
  6. goophers

    goophers Member

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    I got Elder Scrolls IV (Oblivion) for the 360 for $16 there when they closed the Sugar Land store. They'd mislabeled it, but the manager gave it to me anyways -- I guess employees don't really care when they're gonna close down your store. :cool:
     
    #6 goophers, Dec 8, 2007
  7. LegendZ3

    LegendZ3 Member

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    I liked the store, it has all the computer parts that's pretty hard to find at other stores. And I got my laptop there 2 years ago for 500 bucks. Too bad that they are closing, but at least I still got a fry's close to me.
     
    #7 LegendZ3, Dec 8, 2007
  8. macalu

    macalu Member

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    so i guess my laptop warranty is useless now.
     
    #8 macalu, Dec 8, 2007
  9. Coach AI

    Coach AI Member

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    Don't count much on the 'discounts'. They'll mark everything up first - then slowly discount through the whole process; 10% off, 20% off, etc.etc.

    The only real good discounts is toward the end, then it is a crapshoot.
     
    #9 Coach AI, Dec 8, 2007
  10. Pole

    Pole Houston Rockets--Tilman Fertitta's latest mess.

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    Thank God......I can't believe that crappy ass store lasted this long.
     
    #10 Pole, Dec 8, 2007
  11. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    Another source of PC games closing down.

    DD
     
    #11 DaDakota, Dec 8, 2007
  12. Gutter Snipe

    Gutter Snipe Member

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    I got some Sony MS Pro duo memory chips (1GB) cheap when they closed down the 1960 store.
     
    #12 Gutter Snipe, Dec 8, 2007
  13. Yaozer

    Yaozer Member

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    Damn I forgot that's where I got my laptop too!
     
    #13 Yaozer, Dec 8, 2007
  14. professorjay

    professorjay Member

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    Does anyone see stores already closed or relatively out of stock? I won't be able to swing by a CompUSA until next weekend.
     
    #14 professorjay, Dec 8, 2007
  15. Nero

    Nero Member

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    Complete waste of time to bother with 'close-out discounts' at compusa.

    Their closeout discount prices are still twice as high as other stores' every-day prices on almost everything they have.

    Good riddance to bad rubbish.
     
    #15 Nero, Dec 9, 2007
  16. Yao Wink

    Yao Wink Member

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    Not necessarily ... I have a 4 year warranty on a LCD TV I bought there earlier in the year. It is starting to act up (when I use HDMI connection, the audio plays at full volume regardless of sound setting).

    I went to CompUSA and talked to someone to see what would happen with my warranty. Apparently the warranty is with a 3rd party and will still be valid for the life of the warranty, regardless if CompUSA goes under.
     
    #16 Yao Wink, Dec 9, 2007
  17. Nice Rollin

    Nice Rollin Member

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    i was gonna say that too. their sales are never good...i went to the willowbrook one when it was closing, and their "going out of business" prices were more expensive than amazon.com, walmart, and fry's....
     
    #17 Nice Rollin, Dec 9, 2007
  18. Yao Wink

    Yao Wink Member

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    They did have a great Anniversary sale earlier in the year. That is where I picked up my 37" Olevia LCD TV for under $600 ... but then again this is the same TV that is experiencing problems.
     
    #18 Yao Wink, Dec 9, 2007
  19. JBIIRockets

    JBIIRockets Member

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    My dad bought a laptop with a 2 year warranty there 2 weeks ago. Should I tell him to take it back if compusa will not fulfill the warranty?
     
    #19 JBIIRockets, Dec 12, 2007
  20. SwoLy-D

    SwoLy-D Member

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    I used to love this store before I found FRY's.

    That's where I bought my first computer: a Packard-Bell M410 with a Cyrix MII processor and 64MB of RAM. Both companies are now defunct. :(
     
    #20 SwoLy-D, Dec 12, 2007
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