|
 |
|
|
|
Este informe no está disponible en español. CARIBBEAN BUSINESSComputer Gallery Inks New DealsStateside partnerships to quintuple product offeringsBY SAM DiMEOMarch 28, 2002 Computer Gallery, one of the island’s largest computer retailers, is finalizing agreements that its owner says will put 40,000 new products into consumers’ hands in Puerto Rico. Owner Andres Richner told CARIBBEAN BUSINESS he is in the process of inking deals with two stateside suppliers. The agreements, he said, are nearly complete. "We have done our strategic alliances," Richner said. "Right now we carry 10,000 products. Soon we will have access to 50,000 computer products." Richner declined to identify the companies, citing confidentiality agreements prior to completion of the agreements, but he did say many of the new products would be stocked in Puerto Rico. If a product is not stocked here, it will be shipped from the mainland. "I met with them [this month]," Richner said. "I have been meeting with them for the past six months." Those meetings are apparently ready to bear fruit in the form of business partnerships. Computer Gallery’s main building on Federico Costa Street in Hato Rey spans 16,000 square feet and includes the main showroom, a parts department, and inventory storage. The retailer features products by IBM, Compaq, and Epson, as well as parts for nearly all brands. Richner said the company recently acquired a 10,000-square-foot building on nearby O’Neill Street, which will be used for a new computer-related venture but can also provide some storage space. Computer Gallery employs 45 workers and expects sales this year to total approximately $20 million. About 40% of that total comes from "big contracts," such as those with the local Transportation Department and Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. "We also do a lot of business with training schools," Richner said. "If there is a project that requires computers, we go out and bid for it." This Caribbean Business article appears courtesy of Casiano Communications.
|
