Computer Australia expands stores

IT reseller group Computer Australia would franchise two more Brisbane stores in two months, following its resurrection of Concorde Computer, which it purchased late last year.

The group bought Concorde -- which was in administration -- and restored three stores to profit for every month since January, said company boss David Wu. Franchise arrangements for these stores were completed over the last three months, he said.

Wu was also in discussions with prospective franchisees for stores on the Gold Coast and in regional towns near Brisbane.

Wu told CRN the company wanted to have 160 member stores operational Australia-wide by the end of next year. To achieve this the company would continue to expand the Concorde brand, bring new members on board from the existing IT channel and where possible, merge or acquire buying groups, Wu said.

During the past six months, the group has also made improvements with its stock logistics and account management, Wu said.

"Under the new partner distribution agreement, it is proposed that all member stores have direct trading accounts with Computer Australia's partner distributors," he said.

Stock and price information was provided by about 10 distributors directly to stores via iSell's IT Quoter information gateway, he said.

Under the structure, the group would work with vendors, distributors and member stores on its monthly catalogue and other marketing activities such as product updates, and training, retail merchandising and member development, Wu promised.