CompUSA to downsize by next week

by Brody Mulligan of of Brody Blog

PLANO — Employees of CompUSA received notices from the Senior Director of Human Resources outlining the electronics retailer's severance packages, indicating it will begin major layoffs "on or before Febuary 8th," according to an internal communication obtained last week.

The memo indicates that certain employees may be retained on an as needed basis, but stops short of providing finite dates for termination, saying "we are not ready to provide specific end dates for your employment with CompUSA."

Downsizing is now handled by the Gordon Brothers Group, a firm specializing in the liquidation of ailing businesses, and store management has been systematically stripped of most administrative control, according to several employees who requested their names be withheld from publication to preserve anonymity.

The company has weathered financial challenges for over a decade, slowly losing its customer base to other big box chains like Best Buy and Circuit City, while also feeling a tight price squeeze from Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, which recently began selling an expanded selection of electronics such as LCD Televisions and Dell Computers.

But in early January, Tiger Direct, an electronics retailer owned by parent company Systemax, announced its purchase of the CompUSA brand and just over a dozen stores in the United States.

Communications intercepted in late January indicate that Tiger Direct plans to keep stores in McAllen and Plano open for business, however specific information pertaining to current employee retention, merchant relations, and reported visits to stores in North Texas by corporate personnel were not confirmed by store management, who referred media inquiries to corporate offices of Tiger Direct and CompUSA.

Messages left with both companies were not immediately returned Tuesday.

This story was submitted by a member of the Pegasus News community.

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