CompUSA Rock Your Quad Tour reported in Dealerscope
Posted July 15th, 2009
CompUSA is on the leading edge of finding new and interesting ways to educate, create excitement and even provide some entertainment within our retail stores. Our most recent promotion is the ‘Rock Your Quad Tour,’ featuring the cast of ComputerTV who travel in a 42 foot wrapped RV visiting 13 CompUSA retail stores in Florida in 14 days. Continue »
CompUSA Joins Family Separated by War for Birth
Posted July 2nd, 2009
CompUSA, along with HP and CA, make a families life a little bit better. With a husband in the military and on deployment to Afghanistan, one South Florida woman was going to be alone at the time of her son’s birth – but not any longer. Today, CompUSA provided Venesia with 2 HP laptops, complete with webcams, which will allow her and her husband to be “virtually” connected at the time of their childs birth, via Skype.
Venesia was presented with the laptops, some diapers, and a $10,000 Savings Bond courtesy of CA and CompUSA to kick-start a savings fund for the unborn child’s education. Continue »
CR Electronics: Why electronics stores “suck”
Posted June 28th, 2009
The shopping experience at walk-in electronics stores “sucks,” according to a keynote speech at the recent Consumer Electronics Association conference in New York.
No, that messenger wasn’t me or someone else from Consumer Reports, talking about how our Ratings of places to buy computers and other major electronics items reveal that satisfaction with brick-and-mortar stores lags behind that for online retailers.
Instead, the observation came from someone with firsthand knowledge of electronics retailing: The relatively-new owner of CompUSA’s stores and Web site and of the TigerDirect.com and newly-relaunched CircuitCity.com Web sites, too. Continue »
Dealerscope: Retail 2.0 at Digital Downtown
Posted June 12th, 2009
Gilbert Fiorentino, chief executive of Systemax’s Technology Products Group, has more than a few strong opinions about brick-and-mortar and Internet retailing. And he knows whereof he speaks, as a principal in the company that bought the remains of CompUSA last year and Circuit City this year and has created a new retail model that leverages the strong points of both selling formats.
He has implemented his model, called “Retail 2.0,” online and in 29 retail storefronts of CompUSA and is two weeks into the acquisition of Circuit City’s brand name and the relaunch of its web site. “We’re already #9 in computers and electronics sales, and for the combined sales of CompUSA, Circuit City and TigerDirect.com, we’re #3,” he told an audience at a CEA Line Shows session Thursday. Continue »
TWICE: Digital Downtown
Posted June 12th, 2009
…Systemax is looking to grow its brick-and-mortar business from its current base of 29 CompUSA-branded stores. “We’re looking at additional real estate,” he said. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime.”
Fiorentino wouldn’t say how many storefronts or markets the company is considering, stating only, “I dream about lots of stores.”
Systemax acquired 16 CompUSA stores in 2008 and recently converted its existing 11 TigerDirect locations to the CompUSA nameplate. The company is also converting its entire store base to its new Retail 2.0 model, which provides Web access and unique descriptive content to all display TVs, computers and monitors. Remodeled stores have seen a 20 percent increase in conversion rates, he told an audience at a Consumer Electronics Association Line Shows event here last week, and the changeover should be completed by late summer. Continue »
BusinessWeek: How CompUSA Made a Comeback
Posted May 13th, 2009
…CompUSA’s new owner is turning the stores into Internet entrance ramps. PC and television monitors not only display eye-catching clips, as they do in most retail chains; each points as well to the device’s product page on the compusa.com Web site. Shoppers can also check store inventories and even browse competitors’ sites to compare prices. “We want to give people the rich experience of buying online,” says Gilbert Fiorentino, who heads the chain’s retail strategy.
…So Gilbert Fiorentino… turned to making better use of existing assets. He had in-house programmers write software linking computer monitors to each store’s inventory database. TVs were hooked up to hard drives and equipped with keyboards to make them Net-accessible, too. … The chain, which now has 24 sites, mostly in Florida and Illinois, plans to update every one this year. Continue »
WSFL covers debut of new Retail 2.0 Features
Posted May 6th, 2009
WSFL (South Florida) attended an event at our Plantation store which provided South Florida a taste of the latest features in Retail 2.0 during 6AM to 9AM on April 30th, 2009. Gilbert Fiorentino provided the station a personal tour of the new “waterfalls” and other new features of Retail 2.0.
Waterfalls are the latest addition, providing consumers with the ability to interact with cameras, GPS, cellphones and other handheld devices at stations with 14 items and a connected screen, providing information on the item you lift out of the display. Pretty cool, huh?
Keep watching for new features in CompUSA’s Retail 2.0! Continue »
Intel “Retail 2.0 Most Inventive Approach”
Posted April 17th, 2009
CompUSA is forging ahead with the Retail 2.0 concept – and people are noticing. Today a BusinessWeek article on HP, Intel mentioned our “innovation” as “one of the more inventive approaches to tech-product merchandising right now.”
That’s quite a compliment – and we will continue to lead the market through our hard work, innovation and thinking outside of the box how to provide a better experience to our customers! Continue »
New Owners Have Innovation and Guts…
Posted April 14th, 2009
Once a haven for geeks with merchandise stacked in aisles and seemingly tossed on shelves, CompUSA seeks to make itself more buyer friendly following the collapse and liquidation of rival Circuit City. The new CompUSA allows buyers to check prices and product reviews and installation tips online before buying. The danger: Buyers may find a better deal elsewhere and buy through a competitor.
Gathering product and price information while in the store isn’t how traditional retailers such as Best Buy (BBY) do business. Typically, retailers rely on advertised prices and the chain’s reputation to draw customers. Most retailers assume customers have done their research and come to the store ready to buy. Continue »
Tom’s Hardware: Keep Healthy Supply of Components
Posted April 11th, 2009
After rising from the ashes of bankruptcy, CompUSA is taking another shot at brick-and-mortar retail.
One of the worst parts of a recession is the closure of retail chains across the country. CompUSA, Tweeter and Circuit City went the way of the Dodo, and now Blockbuster might be joining the bankruptcy club. However, for those who still enjoy buying media and electronics in a store and not on the Internet, CompUSA is coming back to a strip mall near you.
Back in late 2007, CompUSA went into bankruptcy and was sold to Systemax, the same company who owns TigerDirect. With new management at the helm and a new business strategy, the heralded retail chain is back in the swing of things. According to an interview with Wired, Systemax executive and TigerDirect Founder Gilbert Fiorentino claims that the new CompUSA is at the forefront of a new way of doing business. “We have invented this idea of retail 2.0,” said Fiorentino. “Every screen in every CompUSA store is now connected to the internet and making buying a richer experience for customers. We are using tech to change the retail experience for the customer and giving them access to all the information on the internet anytime they want during the buying process.” Now, if you decide to shop at CompUSA for that new HDTV or laptop, an unfettered Internet connection will help you find the best prices. No Best Buy tricks and no hassles. Continue »
