PCM, Inc.
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| Company type | Public (Nasdaq: MALL) |
|---|---|
| Founded | Marina Del Rey, California, USA (1987) |
| Founder | Sam Khulusi, Frank Khulusi |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Frank Khulusi (CEO,President) |
Number of employees | 1,449 (2004) |
| Website | pcmall.com |
Started as a rapid response direct market catalog, PC Mall, Inc. is a company that offers computer and electronic products and services to buyers ranging form individual consumers to government and educational institutions. PC Mall, Inc., along with its wholly-owned branches (all together known as “PC Mall,”), was started in 1987. Through telemarketing executives, the Internet, direct marketing, catalogs, and three retail showrooms, the computer company offers a wide selection of products. Companies such as Apple Inc., Cisco, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft and Symantec, are all found on the pages of PC Mall’s color catalogs, websites, and various promotions. Customer orders are made mostly by the company’s distribution center near FedEx’s main hub among other networks.
Traded on NASDAQ under symbol “Mall”, PC Mall, Inc is a public company. Annually, the company has a revenue of over $1.2 billion.[citation needed]
History
The company now known as PC Mall, was founded by two brothers, Sam and Frank Khulusi, in 1987 under the name of “Creative Computers”. Creative Computers was launched from the garage of the founders’ residence in Marina Del Rey, CA. The company was set-up as a mail order catalog company whereby products are advertised through paper flyers/catalogs. Interested customers call in their orders through the provided toll free 800 phone number. The founders then took the order and placed purchase orders to acquire sold products, bill the customers’ credit card and ship the products to the customers. At start-up, the company’s catalog consisted of one brand of computers “AMIGA” made by Commodore. The company became the number one mail order reseller of AMIGA computers[citation needed]. In 1993/1994 Commodore went through financial difficulties, which caused it to close its operation in April 1994.
In early 1994, PC Mall obtained authorization to sell Apple computers through its mail order catalog model. The authorization came at an opportune time as the Commodore operation was soon to close. With the Apple authorization and the anticipated growth, PC Mall moved its operation from the back of a retail store to a call center with over 100 seats, a 35000 square foot distribution center, and over 15,000 square foot of corporate office.[citation needed]
In first quarter of 1995, the company filed for its initial public offering and went public in April 1995. In early 1995, the company expanded its catalog to include PC Wintel products as well. In quarter 3 of 1995 to support the growth, the company moved its Distribution Center to a 212,000 square foot distribution center next to FedEx hub in Memphis, TN.
In addition to the millions of catalogs mailed monthly, the company launched it is first web sites macmall and pcmall in 1996.
In 1996/1997 , the company acquired Computability, a Milwaukee based company, and Elek-Tek, a Chicago based company, both dealing primarily with PC Wintel products.
The company established a wholly owned subsidiary “uBid” and launched an online auction. uBid was spun off as a public company in late 1998. Following this, the company established a wholly owned subsidiary called “eCOST.COM” and launched an online low cost model. eCOST.COM in turn was spun off as a public company in 2005.
In 2001, the company acquired Wareforce, a Southern CA based company; in 2002, the company acquired Club Mac a Southern CA based operation.
In 2004, the company launched its website onsale.com focused on the sales of computer and consumer electronic products primarily on the Internet.
In third quarter of 2006, PC Mall Gov, Inc a wholly owned subsidiary of PC Mall, Inc acquired the product business of GMRI a Virginia based company. In third quarter of 2007, the company acquired SARCOM a Columbus, Ohio based company.
Current
PC Mall, Inc. currently has over 20 locations in the U.S., Montreal, and Manila. It employs over 2000 people with annual revenue of over $1.2 billion.[citation needed] The company goes to market through four main segments:
- Consumer and very small business
- Federal and Public Sectors
- Small and Medium size businesses
- Enterprise/fortune 500
PC Mall tied for last place in the ForeSee Results Top 100 Online Retail Satisfaction Index with a American Customer Satisfaction Index score of 67.[1]
External links
References
- ^ "Customer Satisfaction Improves for Retail Websites, According to ForeSee Results' Top 100 Online Retail Satisfaction Index". Business Wire. Retrieved 2008-05-15.