PC Club
Encyclopedia
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| Type | Private retail Retailing Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be... |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Defunct | 2008 (Bankrupt) |
| Location | City of Industry, CA Industry, California Industry is an industrial suburb of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. Home to over 2,500 businesses and 80,000 jobs, but only 219 residents at the 2010 census - down from 777 residents as of the 2000 United States census - the city is almost entirely industrial... |
| Key people Management Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively... (as of 2008) |
Chris Chen VanceInfo VanceInfo is one of the largest IT outsourcing companies in China.-Company Overview:VanceInfo Technologies Inc. is an IT service provider and one of the offshore software development companies in China. VanceInfo was the first China software development outsourcer listed on the New York Stock... , CEO |
| Industry Industry Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,... |
Computer hardware Computer hardware Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that... |
| Top Competition | Best Buy Co., Inc. Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates... Fry's Electronics, Inc. Fry's Electronics Fry's Electronics is a big-box store and retailer of software, consumer electronics, computer hardware, with in store computer repair and custom computer building services and household appliances with a chain of superstores headquartered in Silicon Valley... CompUSA CompUSA CompUSA is a retailer and reseller of consumer electronics, technology products and computer services. Its headquarters are in Miami, Florida.Until its reorganization, CompUSA, Inc. was a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Commercial Corp S.A.B... |
| Products Product (business) In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced... |
Desktops Desktop computer A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Early desktop computers are designed to lay flat on the desk, while modern towers stand upright... Laptops Peripherals |
| Services | In-store computer repairs & upgrades |
| Website Website A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet... |
PC Club was a privately-owned, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based chain of computer hardware
Computer hardware
Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...
stores established in City of Industry, California
Industry, California
Industry is an industrial suburb of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. Home to over 2,500 businesses and 80,000 jobs, but only 219 residents at the 2010 census - down from 777 residents as of the 2000 United States census - the city is almost entirely industrial...
in 1992. The company closed all its stores on July 29, 2008. PC Club operated primarily in the west-coast states
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. It offered hardware and peripherals for PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
s, as well as complete desktop and notebook computers assembled under the "Enpower" brand name.
History
TaiwaneseRepublic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
businessman Jackson Lan founded PC Club in 1992 as its first CEO. Following Lan's death in 2005, the company went through turbulent times. Jeff Lan, Jackson's brother, was appointed president of the company in January 2006. On April 8, 2008, Jeff Lan was appointed advisor to a new PC Club chairman, James Cheng, while Sunny Lin was named the company's next president. PC Club filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on May 13, 2008. All its brick-and-mortar stores were closed in addition to the company's e-commerce website. On May 16, 2008, the stores and website were reopened after the company was acquired for an undisclosed amount by NAOC Holdings, a leveraged buyout
Leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...
holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
.
On July 23, 2008, PC Club closed 14 of its locations. Less than a week later, on July 29, 2008, the store shut down the remainder of its locations.
Business model
PC Club sold directly to both consumers and local resellers through its brick-and-mortar stores and via its website. At one point, they had over 60 store locations in 12 different states, typically placed within walking distance of CompUSA, Best Buy or Fry's Electronics. It provided live tech support by phone, maintained an online forumInternet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
, and answered questions through e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
. In-store repairs and upgrades were available at all locations.
Marketing
PC Club promoted itself through mainstream advertising and word of mouthWord of mouth
Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...
. PC Club also had TV commercials in limited areas.
A scene in the movie Mama's Boy (2007) was filmed at the Burbank,CA, location.