CompUSA, one of the computer retailers who often gave Best Buy and Circuit City a run for their money, will be closing their retail operations. Previously this year, CompUSA closed more than 50% of their stores to attempt to cut operating costs.
This is a disappointment for me because every time I shopped at CompUSA I walked out with several computer parts, peripherals and accessories usually totaling over a hundred dollars each time. They were they only brick-and-mortar retailer who stocked the brands and parts that computer enthusiasts like me enjoyed. Their stores were clean, well-stocked and had a lot of variety between competing brands in their products.
Ars Technica covers the news on the recent changes with CompUSA and did offer one anecdote of hope for shoppers (and the company):
[...] The upside, if there is one, is that we will see some great deals at the remaining stores, just as we did in February during the closure of 126 stores. Gordon Brothers Group promises that consumers will be able to find “attractive holiday bargains” as part of the sale process—I know a good number of geeks who will be making a mass exodus to the soon-to-be-extinct stores over the weekend to get some holiday shopping for themselves done, for sure. [...]
No shopper can turn down a good sale; no geek can turn down gadgets at a good price.
I’d like to share that I’ve never had a poor experience in their stores and their staff were always friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Their products were always reasonable and fairly priced. While they were the underdog, they have put Best Buy and Circuit City in their paces as they carried some awesome sales throughout the year.
I have a suggestion for them before they go:
Instead of closing the whole business, simply change it. Clearly the brick-and-mortar computer retail businesses have been dominated by Best Buy, but why not take it to the Web? I envision that CompUSA could have a viable chance to compete against the highly evangelized NewEgg. If they could adopt a model like Woot (short-term fire sales) but offer the same superb customer service similar to NewEgg, they would do pretty well.
Whatever path they take, I thank them for being such an awesome computer hardware retailer for all these years. What was your experience like with CompUSA?