CompUSA: The Death of a Tech Giant - Post-Mortar
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- čas přidán 1. 07. 2024
- CompUSA was once the largest computer retailer in the world. Let's explore how bad management, obsolete practices, and possible corporate espionage killed a tech retail giant.
Soft Warehouse 1989 Corporate Video from David Linder
Select images from SouthernRetail.blogspot.com
Other images:
Jonesdr77, JJBers, Kirk Allen, Coolcaesar, v343790
Macworld Expo 1998 footage from 9to5mac.com
Main Theme:
Branches by DanoSongs
danosongs.com/
"Apero Hour" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
"Backbay Lounge" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
0:00 - Intro
0:44 - Soft Warehouse, the World's First Computer Superstore
3:00 - The CompUSA Dream Team, the Rise of an Industry Giant
5:58 - Trouble in Techie Paradise
8:05 - The Final Downfall
11:35 - Final Words
Videos and images used in this episode belong to their respective owners. Post-Mortar does not hold the copyrights for any material used.
#compusa #retailhistory #computerhistory
Alex Nuelle 2022
Thanks for watching!
Check out more Post-Mortar here:
czcams.com/play/PL7ildPkTTtPa64stif5DBkCVSs7hcyTwm.html
Thanks for another awesome story! You and Brick Immortar are two of my favourite CZcams channels.
@@User0000000000000004 Thanks for watching! Brick Immortar is great too! That's high praise.
One positive thing I can say about CompUSA: when Nintendo Wii came out and was hot and sold out for months, I was able to find one at CompUSA that was sitting on the shelf like no big deal. Meanwhile other people were feverishly checking the successful big box stores daily and coming up empty handed in their Wii search.
different time it was. not many folks got to experience the joy of walking into a store full of computers and peripherals back in the 90s. Crazy to think it was not long age per se. But nobody by the masses go crazy over new computers released. I was there when they release windows xp. It was a sight to see. Now I cringe of new OS released from windows.
Positive for you maybe, but not for them. In fact, it says something extremely negative. It means few consumers thought to even go there to look for one. Anecdotal observation, but that reflects my relationship with their stores too- no one else had exactly what I wanted, maybe they do? And those were the only occasions I went there.
I worked at compusa back when they were selling TV's. The funny thing is our store was profitable up until the last days. I never understood why they closed in reality. Hell, even the TV's and cell phones were selling for us. Anyhow, shout out to all the old CUSA employees at store #288 in Totowa NJ. Brett and Howard ran a cool place to work.
Me too miss it
I worked at CompUSA for a few years from 1999-2001, and honestly I kinda miss it. Don't get me wrong, my bosses were all crooks, the push to sell add-ons like replacement plans and store warranty's was frankly criminal, and organization itself was just plain forgotten. We operated for years without a manager in charge of the Software Dept, a position I ended up having to basically beg for. I didn't get a raise, mind you, or any instruction as to how to do the job. They did give me a new badge, though. So that was nice. Hell, I worked there for over a year before anyone even mentioned the planagram to me. We just put shit up on endcaps if we had a large amount of it. Our backstock was a bloated mess, and we were always trying to find ways to get more of it out on the floor. At least on our end we were always trying to make it work, but it really felt like we were alone out there sometimes. I miss hanging out with the other people my age, all geeks of one form or another, and just talking tech while unloading carts. We were like kids in a candy store. So dumb, but full of love for technology. I wish I could go back and walk through my store again, but it's a discount clothes store now. I barely remember any of my coworkers names, too. It feels like a lifetime ago. /sigh
I worked at a CUSA from 98 to 00. That place (at least my location) was a complete shit show, I loved it. I only made minimum wage but employee discount was anything at cost, and you better believe I put that discount to work. One time I took a week long trip out of state, didn't tell anyone I was leaving. Ended up not going back to work for like a month. Went to punch in and the GM was like "Dude I thought you quit. Well if your time card works..." sure enough my time card still worked. About a year later that GM along with at least a dozen other employees were escorted out of the store by police for stealing. They had been buying enpty PC cases, and filling them with memory sticks and cards, cameras, high dollar small items that would fit.
Was at the second to last Kmart's in New Jersey on Saturday for their store closing sale. In the same lot use to be the local COMPUSA. Would love a Jamesway or Rickles video. Oh Pharmore would be good too.
I was fortunate to be one of the individuals hired to open the Brookfield Wisconsin location and work there for several years. The education on technology and software provided to me were valuable yo the level that it has helped me move up the employment ladder since. I met some wonderful people while working there for a few short years, it was hard to see if the store close. The leadership of Tony Weiss provided some of the best leadership I've ever experienced.
I clearly remember coloring the ad about their name change as a kid! So glad you showed that.
Props for the Computer City mention. Great store that is sorely missed.
Former compUSA employee here! I worked as a tech fixing computers. And I was with my store till it closed.
I shed a tear. Because there wasn’t a store like it. True tech’s loved this store because it gave you computer parts at your finger tips no ordering no waiting. Best Buy doesn’t do that not even close to what compUSA did. Neither did most other competitors. So seeing a store I had so much invested in close out and there was nothing else like it. It made me real sad
Then I found fry’s and it failed too. That made me mad! Suddenly I was forced to order and wait and I hated that.
Till I lived close to a micro center and was in computer heaven again. Problem is micro center is tiny compared to the others and not many locations.
If I have the means and the money I’d buy the name and bring it back. But I don’t have that power unfortunately.
Great video! Brought back memories for me.
I worked at store 361 in woburn Massachusetts..we cried like babies..we were a family
@@Karenann0313 I worked at a store out of Austin TX. I still have my red shirt. I just don’t have the name tag anymore. But I do have the compUSA shirt. And I also have a best buy shirt during my geek squad days.
As we got the news of store closure a manager from Best Buy basically pouched me and to me hired at his store doing geek squad. I was happy because of job security but still stayed in touch with people there because like you said. I was family with those people. I’ll always miss that store. I’ve even tried to see how I could put plans together to maybe buy the name and bring the store back.
But financially it’s just not possible. No way would i be able to get ahead of Amazon. Or Best Buy. Plus brick and mortar stores are kind of dying off as people turn to online meaning it would be a lost cause to bring it back as it once was.
Might as well just let it RIP. 🪦. And just enjoy and cherish the memories.
Future video ideas
-Hollywood video
-Sports authority
-Borders
-Sharper Image
-Tower Records
-Sam goody
Hollywood Video: czcams.com/video/6ZDkKmrhCzg/video.html
Sam Goody: czcams.com/video/2SZAfHzThVY/video.html
Waldenbooks (with some Borders history): czcams.com/video/jmTkQhD96GQ/video.html
I'll get cracking on the others. Thanks for watching!
@@PostMortar 🙏🏼
Ha! I was just thinking that I would love to see an episode on Hollywood Video since that's where I rented my all Nintendo tapes from back in the day and it was in the same shopping center as the CompUSA I worked at when I was a teenager. I believe right before the end of rental stores, Hollywood was the only one you could find Criterion Collection DVDs for rent. I copied so many of them. Thanks for the link!
I worked at compUSA in 1997 for a summer job, I hated that place. When they went out of business it was no surprise.
I remember they use to have one in Danvers liberty tree mall plaza. Great memories and it sucks there's not enough computer retail stores anymore.
This is my childhood here...I really miss this store!
I just remember near the end they no wanted to pay anyone we knowledge in the stores. They had the idea of a hotline you could call in the story to speak to someone with actual product knowledge. Things had gotten so bad they couldn't even get a weekly ad out properly any longer.
I lived in Austin during my adolescent years and I absolutely loved Computer City. I remember I bought my original boxed copy of Civilization and SimCity from Computer City in Austin, TX. What I remember most were the awesome AST 486 DX2 66 computers at the front of the store. AST was one of the better brands of PC that existed before Dell gobbled up that entire market.
Call me crazy but I remember those days as a kid and smelling the inside of the box I just opened. It rings 90s for me.
Sadly, "Comp" was my town's only dedicated computer store. As a PC geek I used to go there just to look around and then go home and buy all my stuff from Newegg and then Amazon. For the hard core PC builder the selection was just too limited, though I'd buy the occasional hard drive that had been put on sale. I also found an OG Nvidia, G-force 8800 GTS in stock there on day 1 of that venerable card's release. In the summer of 98 my young son and I waited in line all day for the midnight opening for the grand release of Windows 98. We got there early and were in the first group of 10 and thus qualified to buy a brand new Pentium PC for $100. What a day that was! My mom came by with sandwiches and we took turns going in the store to look around and get on the internet on one of their connected PCs. There were hundreds of people in line by midnight, circling the entire parking lot. This was the heyday of PC fever - what a time! My son (nearing 40 now!) and I still reminisce about that crazy day!
Love this channel. Nostalgia + Facts I never knew = Great viewing. This video was solid, though the Babbage's one is still my favorite.
Thanks so much! Glad you like them.
Thanks for covering CompUSA, I shopped there many years ago
Awesome Video! 🔥
I worked for CompUSA for a few months back when the very first 1GB Hard Drives came out from Conner and Maxtor, the very first PDAs were popular, and just before Voodoo or nVidia graphics took off. I'm not sure of the exact year but it was probably around 96 or 95. I DO NOT miss it. I did NOT like that job. It consisted of counting boxes on the shelf and answering stupid questions. Candy store it was not.
True dat, and nothing beat buying repackaged returns that did not work there. A reason they had 'rare' stuff on the shelf
I worked under Tony Weiss when Larry Mandry was CEO in the Dallas location. It was a great opportunity and helped me with my career.
Oh god..brings back memories..for weeks being told our store wasn't closing..then being called on my day off that it was. I was in business sales..me and the bsm were laid off immediately everyone else worked retail..😢
Many young chickens don't know and experienced the peak days of early computers and going with your parents to buy a computer for the house. You would see a flock of regular folks and tech nerds and loved talking computers. The plethora of pc games on shelves both on cd and floppy disks. People used to get crazy over the release of new computers and peripherals. It truly was a golden era.
Very true. It was a very different time. On another note, Computer Chickens would make a great band name.
@@PostMortar I would have paid a lot of money to see the computer chickens! Their #1 hit single would have been "Dont Peck me Away".
@@billn.1318 From their debut album "Dial-Up Cluck, Cluck..."
A little bit late to the party here! I’ve only been to CompUSA only a few times with my dad when I was little. He preferred it over Circuit City at the time 😅
Great video as always!!!
Nice! What a great history.
I miss CompUSA. I visited with my mom every weekend and made friends with some of the staff. It was kind of sad when they closed. I do still have their break room microwave stand that they sold when they were going out of business.
The selling of our soul to AOL was a big miss, every day the manager was only concerned about getting as many people as possible to sign up for aol and we sold our real estate space to have an aol cafe in many stores . Also the training division for computer classes was an easy money grab but they never seemed to hold it valuable. When the fridges and microwaves starting rolling in, we became more like Sears and less like a computer store. Outside of that, well done on the video!
I grew up going to the CompUSA and Micro Center stores in Houston. I loved CompUSA because I could sit and play games the entire time we were there. Hahaha
While Micro Center had the best collection of novelty mice, I did prefer being able to play PutPut while my dad spent hours in the store. And I could get through more than three scenes on their computers. Hahaha
I remember it being a very comfortable place to be.
I'm glad at least Micro Center has been able to persist to today. They both had the best employees.
Thank you for this. I loved computer stores like this and Computer City and always wondered what happened to them. While today I know I can buy something on Amazon and have it the next day, sometimes I would like to be able to drive to a store and look at many products and buy what I want right then and there. There is still Best Buy, but their stores never have the sort of selection that a real computer store would have.
Thanks for watching! Amazon is certainly the main opinion now. Best Buy is a shell of a store at this point. Always sad to watch an industry die.
That is the joy of us older folks experience comparated to that most folks of the young generation will never experience in their lifetime. Loved going to a computer store and seeing the latest buzz and craze - over a new system released with latest processor and peripherals. I thought zip disks was ground breaking.
I like how tech syndicate was in the compusa commercial
Now we got Micro center.
Not gonna lie. I miss the days and times of CompUSA.
the zip disk misses you
@@billn.1318 LOL - Also, the Jaz Drive says hello! :D
Note in Spanish: Grupo is just Spanish for "Group", and as such, there are hundreds of "Grupos" in Mexico. "Grupo" is listed first due to Spanish grammatical structure. In English, we would say "Sanborns Group". So, if you want to call the Mexican buyer by a singular name, Sanborns is correct.
Even though I never liked the CompUSA since I wasn't that much into PC gaming in the early 90's, there still a memory of my youth. Nostalgia is like a drug but without much of a high. It would be interesting if you could do an episode of (The Warehouse) it was a music store chain back in the day, not sure if it existed outside of CA. Thanks for the videos 👍
I’ll take a look. Thanks for watching!
The Wherehouse (not Warehouse) - now that's a name I haven't heard in a while! While you're at it, you could look into The Record Factory which the Wherehouse bought out. Both were my go to places for music. I think competition (Tower/Blockbuster/etc) and the changing music market and media did them in.
Best online place to buy pics in the 2000s was Monarch Computers
There is something enchanting about physical stores selling software
Of course, video game stores are still kicking it
If you could travel back to the 90s and visit a Babbage's or Software, Etc. in their prime, you'd know true bliss. Entire stores that sold nothing but computer software? Yes, such things in fact did exist. There were even a couple that sold nothing but second hand software! Today's subscription licensing is so sad compared to how things used to be. I guess if you grew up in the subscription age, you'll never know how good we had it.
I have a cousin who does computers for a living and there was a time he swore by CompUSA. He never bought hardware, software, or anything else anywhere.
In the 2000s Newegg just ran over compUSA.
@@map3384 in the 90's Egghead ruled. I think Newegg purchased Eggheads domain at some point
i wanted to shop at comp usa so bad. when i finally got the money, i made a beeline for comp usa only to find an empty building. when i tell you i was crushed. it was the worst feeling.
Didnt miss much, Microcenter 10x's better
I remember buying Doom there, the 3rd one, as well as one of the firsr DVD burners out.. Miss CompUSA..
Today I found MicroCenter in Dallas, but have since moved to NC.. Luckily they are building a MicroCenter not too far away! About the closest thing to a CompUSA revival.
Agreed. Bought all my PC parts there. They’re doing what CompUSA should have.
Great channel clever name. LGR would be proud of that b roll music
Thank you! I bet he would be.
worked for the company for 12 years in corporate sales starting when they had only 2 stores. Made a bunch of money on spiffs and commisions and then it all went to shit
Went to my local store in 2000 for a USB controler card, and the guy I ask for help had no clue what USB was.😅
What made them a success was being a unique store in the right place and time. And what did them in was being the opposite of all those things: a generic consumer electronics store amidst a sea of competitors battling it out to the lowest price, with those competitors on every corner, and the internet exploding in their faces. The irony is that there were only two survivors from those days: Best Buy (somehow), and MicroCenter, which has prospered by sticking to exactly the same format all these years despite online competition. They saw what killed CompUSA, and while they do sell some consumer electronics, they have always been a computer store and that is obvious the second you enter one of their stores. The computer nerds love the place and make cross-country road trips to visit the stores. That could have been CompUSA.
Another reason why MicroCenter has survived is because they have very few stores.
@@B9M3 and I believe being in HUB zones which usually results in lower sales taxes is how they compete with the internet.
the one in Newport News, VA is a Fresh Market now. You would've never guessed it was once a computer store.
Our Hastings became a supermarket
My Uncle still uses the the iMac he Bought at CompUSA in 2008
Whatever for? Must be frustrating not being able to use new software on it. Does he just use it to browse the internet and read email or something? I tried to refurbish my old iMac and when I tried to use it, I had a hard time doing anything I wanted to do. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong.
Nathan Morton was actually the CEO of Computer City when Compusa purchased them.
Where is your Radio Shack piece?
I’m still waiting for them to close all their stores. Then I’ll make a video.
@@PostMortar When I read your reply, I thought it was an April Fool's joke or something but after some quick Googling, it appears that there really are some stores left. There's just a single store operating in the huge metro area I reside in. Now I have to go there and check it out! That's fascinating! What could they possibly be selling? After they went all cell phone crazy in the early 00's there's been no reason to shop there.
Having worked for comp for a number of years, It's mu opinion that if they stayed as just a computer SUPERSTAR. If only the didn't try to be like Best Buy. Once the Plasma TVs arrived, See Ya. .RJ
BRING IT BACK BRI IT BQCK COMP USA YOU GUYS WERE AWSOME. CONMO USA COMPUSA
5:30 Hey! You can’t be on the computer and drive.
That’s the man who invented texting and driving.
other issue was how bad quality of american computers in late 90's and ealy 00 was, lots of people did not bought any pc after the compaq presario 5000 with windows me disaster
Gulag for everyone from 3:00 to 6:00
Straight to Siberia
CompUSA bought computer City in September 1998 they kept the brand computer City in Canada why computer City failed is radio shack micro manageed the company
I heard rumors that radio shack were cooking the books
At first CompUSA had second thought s at first bought thee company anyway
LURIAS /WEST COAST VIDEO/ XTRA SUPER FOOD CENTERS/
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I think you mean pᵒsᵗmᵒrᵗᵃr