EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
All the companies on the list sell computers and computer equipment, but that’s just one of many things they do. Many also offer system integration, Web design, training, support and maintenance, plus other computer-related services that can be as simple as a software upgrade and as complex as restructuring an entire accounting system.
The robust economy throughout 1999 is responsible for all but three of the top 15 companies on this year’s list showing sizable gains in revenues. In fact, their combined revenues were 27 percent higher in 1999 than the combined revenues of the same 15 companies in 1998.
Smaller computer reseller companies continue to be absorbed by the larger ones simply because “you have to be big to offer the best prices,” said Dan DeVries, executive vice president of PCMall. That’s one of the reasons PCMall now offers over 100,000 products.
THE PACESETTER
PC MALL INC.
Torrance based PCMall, which is in the process of officially changing its name to IdeaMall, resells computer hardware and software products from the likes of IBM, Compaq, Toshiba, Apple and Cisco, plus office supplies and equipment. The products are sold via the Internet, telemarketing and catalogues.
PCMall is also getting into the Internet consulting business. Once the service is running, fledgling companies will be able to learn how to do such things as set up a 401(k) plan, and find legal, marketing, advertising, and travel advice, according to Executive Vice President Dan DeVries.
While PCMall once conducted all of its business by phone, the Internet has changed that. Online sales represent the fastest-growing part of its business, resulting in 27 percent of all fourth-quarter revenues, and will be the focus of PCMall’s continued growth, along with telemarketing to businesses, DeVries said. The company reported a 13 percent increase in revenues in L.A. County last year, going from $540 million in 1998 to $610 million.
In 1995, the company moved its distribution center from Torrance to Memphis, Tenn., because officials wanted to be closer to the Federal Express hub, DeVries said.
