A Buttoned-Down Firm Battens Down

Slowly but surely, International Business Machines--the company once known for it white-shirted, blue-suited ways--is loosening its tie.

The latest evidence: Big Blue, which once permitted only the most up-market of retailers to handle its products, will sell personal computers on--egads!--the Home Shopping Network.

Granted, the cable TV channel will be handling only a discontinued laptop computer, the L40 SX, a slow seller since its introduction early last year. IBM said it thought the channel might be a good way to move unsold inventory of the $1,500 product.

The deal shows how far IBM has come from the days when it could afford to choose its dealers. It now sells PCs via mail-order, mass-merchandising chains and just about any other outlet that promises to move machines. The entire PC industry has been moving toward mass marketers as competition has stiffened and prices have come down.