Looks like Computer City may be dropping Packard Bell as a vendor..
Packard Bell May Lose Computer City Account
(02/20/98; 6:12 p.m. EST)
By Roger C. Lanctot, Computer Retail Week
Packard Bell NEC may lose another large national
account: Computer City SuperCenter.
Although executives at both companies were
unavailable for comment, store-level personnel at
Computer City said they had not seen any shipments
of new Packard Bell computers since before
Christmas. Store visits confirmed that the only
available product was being closed out.
At the Computer City store in Garden City, N.Y.,
sales associates said Packard Bell's reputation for
poor customer service made the brand a tough sell.
Other Computer City stores said that when they
checked, they realized the brand wasn't being
restocked. A source close to Computer City said the
chain may replenish its supply of Packard Bell
computers if the company can deliver an offering that
sells well. Lack of sales appeared to have been the
primary reason for the brand's at least temporary
departure from the chain.
Computer City joins Office Depot as the second
top-5 retail account to drop Packard Bell. Although
executives at Office Depot insisted the company has
not parted ways with Packard Bell, the office
superstore currently sells only Compaq and
Hewlett-Packard computers in its stores. Between
them, Office Depot and Computer City accounted for
more than $3 billion in computer hardware sales in
1997, about 15 percent of the total hardware sales of
the CRW Top-100 retail accounts.
At one time, Packard Bell computers were sold by
nearly all U.S. computer retailers. As the company
sought to improve its profitability, it progressively cut
back its distribution, including a withdrawal from
Wal-Mart stores two years ago. Although Packard
Bell PCs have never sold as well in computer
superstores as they have in the stores of mass
merchants and consumer-electronics retailers, the
brand has held its own recently, according to audited
retail sales data from companies such as PC Data,
Intelect ASW Marketing Services, and Computer
Intelligence.
Computer City's decision to drop Packard Bell
appears to coincide with a larger role at the chain for
the WinGen brand, which first appeared at Computer
City last year. Computer City's latest print ads feature
four WinGen systems, including a 166-megahertz
Cyrix-based system selling for $499.99, a 300-MHz
Pentium II for $1,699, a 233-MHz Pentium II for
$1,299.99, and a 333-MHz Pentium II for
$1,999.99. (All system prices exclude monitors.)
Meanwhile, Packard Bell may more than make up for
any lost retail sales with commerce conducted over its
Internet-based retail site. Some of the offers, which
include refurbished systems, consist of an $849
233-MHz Pentium, a $757 200-MHz Pentium, an
$899 233-MHz Pentium, and a $645 166-MHz
Pentium. The site offers volume discounts as well.
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