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Computer retail CompUSA is no longer. The company, which had been struggling for several years, has sold its remaining assets and gone into liquidation.

Ars Technica has an in-depth article on what the closing will entail and who will get what in the Wall St. sense. Engadget broke the story a few days ago in cheekily includes a ‘Best Buy victory rap‘.

So let’s talk about what this means for the strange and curious sector of computer/electronics retailing.

First off, we have to note how CompUSA rose to prominence during the mid-90s on the backs of the slow death of Computer City. Computer City was generic and friendly and had a certain Wal-mart-style plainness that families could enjoy, but CompUSA was for the hardcore geek — it stocked better products, at lower prices, and the trained a more knowledgable staff to be more helpful. In every manner, they kicked Computer City’s ass, and eventually took over many of their brick-and-mortar locations after acquiring the company. But since 2000 or so, CompUSA has itself been sliding and sliding to an inevitable death. They failed to maintain their brand values and became like their predecessor Computer City, a bland behemoth slinging crappy PCs to grandparents. The staff became known for their disgruntledness and the stores themselves fell into disarray.

The irony is that CompUSA didn’t succumb to another competitor — even Best Buy, Fry’s, or Costco can’t claim sole credit for their demise — but rather to the concept of internet shopping. The very computers they sold were the tools by which customers made the store obsolete. As sites like NewEgg and TigerDirect grew in popularity, the need for retail locations dwindled. Saying nothing of old standby Amazon or the ever-popular eBay. I think a large part of their death also has to do with the sale of computer ‘consumables’ such as blank CDs and printer ink, which are not only sold at Staples and OfficeMax, but pretty much every corner store. To make a comparison, 7-Eleven makes most of its money on cigarettes and milk.

There are two lessons to be learned here. First, brands live and die, nothing is forever. Whether by technology or simply by evolutions in the marketplace, brands come and go. I remember just a few months ago trying to break the news to my grandfather that Kodak is a dying company. In his day, they were a global giant and of the highest-valued companies on Wall St., today they make IMAX movies and maybe some other specialty stuff.

Second, the little things count! When going to a retail location, the slightest mis-adventure can cause a customer never to return, and worse, to dissuade their friends from shopping there. Much like the colour of your neighbors’ house, constumers only begin to observe the retail ‘experience’ after it’s gone horribly wrong. Treat your staff better, stock better products, listen to customers, invest in interior and graphic design (not to mention packaging, web design, etc.) and give shit about the little things! [see also my previous post about Starbucks, who does this stuff well]

Another point of interest is to observe that CompUSA is perhaps the only major chain who acquired the rights to sell Apple computers. But even the popularity of iPods and Macs couldn’t save them.

// a tale of brands & branding, computers & gadgets
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