Birmingham-based reseller Specialist Computer Holdings Plc says it is to challenge high-street dealers like Dixons and Comet by opening a chain of Byte computer superstores in the UK, each selling around 5,000 different product lines. Chairman Peter Rigby is proposing an initial UKP28m investment in around 14 20,000 square-foot outlets over the next two years. All the outlets will be financed out of retained profit, Rigby told the Independent on Sunday. The stores are intended to fill a percieved gap between specialist vendors that offer a limited range of products and high street retailers that offer more products but lack specialist knowledge. They will target individual buyers who are reckoned to account for around 50% of the 1m personal computers sold each year. A flagship store is to open in Birmingham this March, followed by others in Glasgow, Newcastle and Sheffield. If these prove successful the chain will be expanded – company insiders have spoken of around 24 stores opening within three years. But there are doubts about Specialist Computer’s chances of success, despite its glowing record as a value added supplier to big companies – it ranks as IBM’s second largest dealer, Compaq’s third largest and both Toshiba Corp and Hewlett-Packard Co’s fourth largest dealer (CI No 1,985). Cynics are pointing to the dearth of experienced retail managers, for example; others to the luke warm reception predecessors like PC World have excited. The risk of saturation is bigger than the company has anticipated, it is suggested. Rigby reckons the UK could support 200 superstores.
