CompUSA to Close All 103 Stores

CompUSA will close or sell all of its retail outlets and TechPro services business, the retailer and its new owner, Gordon Brothers investment bank, announced Dec. 10.

Gordon Brothers, which acquired the retailer Dec. 7, said the store's 103 locations will remain open through the holiday season but offered no further details on the closing time frame.

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Some stores will be sold to other retailers, and CompUSA.com, the online component, and TechPro services business, which connects member VARS with business leads prequalified from the CompUSA sales team, are also for sale, Gordon Brothers said.

CompUSA.com and TechPro will continue operation until sold, the company said, but the VARs who provide TechPro's manpower and make most of the services calls said that without in-store sales teams, which generated most of the leads, the program is likely to fall apart.

Click here to read how VARs were affected by CompUSA's earlier store closings.

Small-business customers will find other routes to solution providers, said Jay Edlin, president of Jet Consulting and a TechPro VAR.

CompUSA closed 126 stores in February after struggling to compete against Best Buy, Circuit City and other large retail electronics chains. Then-owner Grupo Carso SA of Mexico had been trying to sell the company since September 2006.

Bill Weinstein, a principal at Gordon Brothers, will act as CompUSA's interim president, and Stephen Gray, a managing partner at restructuring firm CRG Partners, will serve as chief restructuring officer. CompUSA's current CEO, Roman Ross, will continue as an executive adviser until the sale closes.