PC Club Acquired By Investment Group

by Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 5/19/2008 11:27:00 AM

City of Industry, Calif. — PC Club, the 37-store specialty chain based here, has been acquired by NAOC Holdings, a Los Angeles venture capital firm that plans to expand it beyond its Western U.S. trading area.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

NAOC said the capital infusion will allow PC Club and its two e-commerce sites, PCClub.com and ClubIT.com, to remain open for business as usual, and to honor all customer and vendor relationships and agreements.

After reorganizing the business, NAOC said it will set its sites on growing the chain, which will join other Chinese-tied investments in building a “leading home computer appliance conglomerate.”

“Brick-and-mortar accessory computer stores are still a valued commodity in the U.S.,” said NAOC spokesperson Alan Hunter. “We believe PC Club to have strong potential for continued business operations.”

The company, founded in 1992, had sales of $75 million last year, according to the latest TWICE Top 100 CE Retailers Report. Sales declined nearly 17 percent year-over-year, as PC Club closed three stores.

It is not clear whether president/CEO Jeff Lan and members of his managment team will retain their positions or serve as consultants to the new owners.

“Our new relationship with NAOC Holdings will give us an opportunity to grow our market share and expand beyond the Western and Central U.S.,” said Kim Chu, senior sales manager at PC Club. “In addition, we’ll now have the ability to reorganize and to work on expanding our compelling product line,” which includes desktop and notebook PCs, parts, barebones kits and accessories. The chain also provides computer-repair services.

Established in 1996, NAOC manages more than $200 million in capital, and maintains extensive family and business ties to the Chinese manufacturing and supply chain communities.