Last month news broke that technology retailer CompUSA would be closing its remaining retail stores and, essentially, holding a fire sale on anything left on the shelves. But the CompUSA brand is not going away after all. As it turns out US retail group Systemax, which owns TigerDirect, has decided to buy the CompUSA brand, website and 16 of its retail stores in a $30 million deal.
Not only does Systemax plan to keep some CompUSA stores open under its control, it also plans to change the name of 11 existing TigerDirect retail stores to CompUSA. The TigerDirect brand will not go away, though, it will live on as an online tech superstore at TigerDirect.com. But given CompUSA's eroding name in the business world, one has to wonder if this decision will end up hurting TigerDirect more than it will help them, as it first needs to shake off CompUSA's stigma of limited selection and poor service.