Computer City New Vice President Henry Chiarelli Goes on The Record With Computer Retail Week

Henry Chiarelli, new Vice President of Marketing for Computer City SuperCenters, goes on the record about plans for the nation's number two computer superstore chain in an interview with Computer Retail Week. Chiarelli says Computer City is orchestrating a comeback in 1997 by shifting emphasis toward more experienced computer users and away from a promotional focus on computer systems. The story is posted on the publication's Web site at http://www.crw.com/.

Computer City held onto its number two position despite a difficult 1996 which was marked by parent company Tandy Corporation's December announcement that it will sell off or close all 17 of its Incredible Universe stores. Additional strategies Chiarelli reveals for restoring Computer City to a more stable position in the market include a more intense focus on the corporate marketplace, less promotional attention to CPUs and more attention to service and sale of supplies, accessories, software and peripherals.

"It's a sound plan," Computer Retail Week Editorial Research Director and Chiarelli interviewer Roger Lanctot said. "Experienced users are driving the computer market while all the profitability is coming from services and peripherals."

Initial vendor support appears high for the reborn Computer City, Chiarelli said. "We've spent a lot of with the vendors right out of the starting blocks. They have a high level of confidence in our go-forward strategy."

Also on board to spearhead the turnaround is new Vice President of Sales David Martella, a Radio Shack veteran who is charged with developing new training and sales incentives programs designed around solution selling. Martella maintains that, moving forward, Computer City "...will focus on providing incentives for sales associates to serve the customers' needs, instead of trying to fit the customer into what it was we had to sell in the store."

The full text of Chiarelli's comments will be posted on CRWi on February 17. The February 17 print edition of Computer Retail Week will also feature the interview.

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 -CRWi- at http://www.crw.com/.

CMP Media Inc. provides publishing, marketing and information services to the entire high-technology spectrum -- the builders, sellers and users of technology -- through print and electronic media. All of CMP's publications and online products can be accessed through the company's TechWeb® site on the World Wide Web (http://www.techweb.com/). CMP's print titles include Computer Reseller News, VARBusiness and InformationWeek.

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SOURCE: CMP Media, Inc.

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