CompUSA Inc.’s days as a multi-channel retailer are coming to an end and the future of its e-commerce channel remains in doubt.
Following a sale for an undisclosed amount to Gordon Brothers Group LLC, a Boston investment banking firm that specializes in retailing liquidations, asset management and corporate turnarounds, CompUSA will close its network of 104 stores, but possibly sell some higher-performing locations.
Gordon Brothers will also continue to operate CompUSA.com, No. 42 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, and CompUSA TechPro, a technical service business, as it seeks a buyer.
CompUSA will be run for now by Gordon Brothers principal Bill Weinstein, who will serve as interim president, and Stephen Gray, a managing partner at CRG Partners Group LLC, a New York restructuring firm. CompUSA CEO Roman Ross will continue to serve in an executive advisory capacity during the transition. "An orderly and expedited wind down and asset sale is the best option for CompUSA and its creditors at this juncture," says Weinstein. "We are focused on assuring that CompUSA's creditors, landlords and other key constituents are treated properly during this process.”
Gordon Brothers is also the investment banking firm that is consolidating the final operations of The Bombay Co. Inc., which closed its trio of e-commerce sites and began shuttering stores in October.
Gordon Brothers purchased the assets of CompUSA from Grupo Carso, a Mexican manufacturing and retail conglomerate owned and operated by billionaire Carlos Slim Helu. DJM Realty, a Gordon Brothers Group company that specializes in real estate disposition and valuations, will assist in assessing the leases for CompUSA's store locations.
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