Apple Focusing National Retail Efforts on CompUSA

Apple Computer Inc. said Monday that it will phase out sales of current hardware products at several major national computer retailers and will instead focus its national retail efforts on CompUSA Inc.

Apple said currently available hardware products will be phased out of Best Buy Co., Circuit City Stores Inc., Computer City, OfficeMax and Sears Roebuck & Co. Some stores will continue to sell Macintosh software on a case-by-case basis, Apple said.

“CompUSA gives them a partner that really pushes the Mac,” said analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies Research. This is better than being in lots of stores but not having salespeople who know about and are focused on selling Apple’s machines, he said.

Indeed, Apple said it is not backing away from selling in retail channels. The company is trying to focus better on specific markets and products that are traditionally strong.

Apple and CompUSA launched the concept last November, with special Apple retail stores within each of CompUSA’s 148 superstore locations.

Apple said it will continue to offer products at 3,500 other locations in the United States, through regional retail chains, specialized Apple dealers, such as Torrance-based Creative Computers Inc., and value-added resellers and catalogs.

Shares of Dallas-based Comp-USA rose 6 cents to close at $31 on the New York Stock Exchange; Apple shares fell 63 cents to close at $17.69 on Nasdaq.

In a separate development, Apple said it had canceled its annual meeting scheduled for today. The Cupertino-based company didn’t give a reason for the postponement and no new date was set.

A Best Buy spokeswoman said Best Buy will continue to carry Mac software.