CMP's Computer Retail Week Releases Annual Top 100 Retailers Report

CMP's Computer Retail Week unveils in its January 6 issue its annual report on the top 100 retailers. According to Computer Retail Week, Comp USA earns the number one spot on the list this year, with revenues totaling $4.25 billion. The exclusive report also reveals that total sales of computer merchandise through retailers grew 20.4 percent in 1996 to a record $28.2 billion, up from $23.4 billion in 1995.

Other names rounding out the top 10 in Computer Retail Week's 1996 Top 100 Retailers report are: Best Buy ($3.33 billion); Office depot ($2.25 billion); Computer City SuperCenters ($2.14 billion); Micro Warehouse ($1.98 billion); Circuit City Stores ($1.85 billion); Micro Center ($1.11 billion); OfficeMax $1.08 billion); Staples ($1.04 billion); CDW Computer Center ($920 million). For the full list of retailers and additional information from the Computer Retail Week 1996 Top 100 Retailers report, visit http://techweb.cmp.com/crw/091996/top100/html.

"The Computer Retail Week 1996 Top 100 Retailers report is more than a ranking of the top revenue-producing retailers," said Keith Newman, Publisher, Computer Retail Week. "It's a comprehensive overview of the performance of the players in the computer retail market. The report looks at the big winners and losers of 1996, dissects the top 10 retailers on the list and examines the forces that drive hardware and software sales. "

Newman added that Computer Retail Week is hosting a black tie awards event in honor of the Top 100 Retailers, including Top Shelf Awards that will be presented to the National Retailer of the Year, Regional Retailer of the Year and Independent Retailer of the Year as selected by Computer Retail Week. The ceremony will take place at the 1997 International Winter Consumer Electronics Show January 9 to 12 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. For more information on this event, visit http://www.techweb.com/calendar/calendar.html

The Computer Retail Week 1996 Top 100 Retailers list was compiled with the support of industry analysts, suppliers and the retailers themselves. All the data in the report is presented as Computer Retail Week estimates based on data available from both public and private sources. In addition, all the numbers in the report reflect calendar year 1996 sales. In most cases, store counts were obtained directly from the retailers and represent the actual or estimated number of stores with computer-related merchandise as of December 31, 1995 and December 31, 1996.

Computer Retail Week, published by CMP, is the leading newspaper for technology retailers. It provides critical information about new alliances, technologies and products for a wide audience of computer hardware and software retailers, mass merchants, software specialty stores and other Channel members. For the past six years, Computer Retail Week has delivered breaking news weekly throughout the year. Breaking news stories can be viewed by visiting Computer Retail Week's home page -- CRWiy -- at http://www.crw.com/.

CMP Media Inc., now in its 25th year of uninterrupted growth, is the only provider of publishing, marketing and information services to reach the entire spectrum of the high-technology market -- the builders, sellers and users of technology. With sales of $382 million in 1995, CMP has marked its quarter century of success with an average yearly growth of 20 percent. All of CMP's publications and a series of innovative news and interactive services, are available on the World Wide Web through CMP's TechWeb*, http://www.techweb.com/, the industry's first free daily technology news and interactive services super site, since 1994. CMP Media is also the creator of NetGuide Live (http://www.netguide.com/), the first comprehensive daily online guide to the Net, and First-TV (http://www.first-tv.com/), the Internet's first 24-hour TV/video network.

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SOURCE: CMP Media Inc.

CONTACT: Leslie Dunbar of CMP Media, 516-562-7040 or ldunbar@cmp.com