Torrance, Calif. – PC Mall said today it will acquire consumer
electronics retailer eCost.com from parent company PFSWeb.
The deal is valued at $2.3 million.
PC Mall, which sells computer and electronics products primarily
to business and enterprise customers, said it plans to keep operating eCost.com
as an online discount marketplace for computers and CE products.
The Plano, Texas-based eCost.com had about $76 million in sales
in its most recent fiscal year. PC Mall also acquired about $1 million in
eCost.com inventory and plans to form a new subsidiary called OnSale Inc.,
which eventually will combine eCost.com with PC Mall’s own OnSale business.
“We are very excited about this acquisition, which will help
us broaden our reach into the consumer market, said PC Mall CEO/chairman Frank
Khulus. “Consumer spending represents a significant portion of the U.S.
economy and the opportunities surrounding a consumer-focused web strategy can
be compelling. Our plan for our new consumer-focused subsidiary is to leverage
its brands, revenue stream, vendor relationships, online traffic, customer
base, patents and employee base to expand as well as to explore additional
market opportunities.”
PC Mall ranked 28th in TWICE’s most recent Top 100 CE Retailers
Report, with 2009 CE sales of $507 million. eCost.com was No. 76 on the list.
