Misco
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| Company type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer hardware |
| Founded | 1985 New Jersey, United States |
| Headquarters | Wellingborough, England, United Kingdom |
Key people | Adam Muir, Gary Watson, Shaun Newell, Nathan Dorrington and Andy Stafford |
| Revenue | £61m |
| Parent | Comet Group Limited |
| Website | www |
Misco Technologies Limited is an online retailer based in the United Kingdom. It was formerly an IT brand whose ownership was split between Hilco Capital Limited and Systemax.[1] Misco also operated in Germany until their German operations were sold to CANCOM SE in July 2016.[2]
Sales were targeted at business, education, public sector and consumer markets, with sales being made online, via telephone and mail order catalogue. The Misco brand was relaunched on 1 July 2019, as part of the UK Computer Group Limited. In 2020 UK Computer Group re branded as Misco Technologies Limited.
History
[edit]Misco was founded in New Jersey, United States, and ran a business of mail order sale of computer supplies and accessories. Gillette invested in Misco in 1983, taking a 40% stake, as part of a program to acquire high-growth low-risk businesses.[3] Misco launched its first subsidiaries in Europe, concurrently in the United Kingdom and West Germany in October 1985, followed by Italy in 1986.[citation needed]
In November 1987, Gillette sold the company to the British company Electrocomponents plc, for the sum of £11,000,000.[citation needed] The effects of the beginning of the 1990s recession led Electrocomponents to sell Misco at a loss, in the beginning of 1993.[citation needed] The buyer, Global Computer Supplies, was controlled by Systemax Inc and HCS (Global) Ltd at the time.[citation needed].
In 2002, Global, now known as Systemax, began a program of restructuring. This would see its newly acquired Simply Computers business merge with Misco's operation in the United Kingdom in Wellingborough by February 2005.[4] Also, logistics were established in a purpose built warehouse in Greenock, Scotland.
The brick and mortar outlets founded by Simply were gradually closed down, a symptom of consumer trends moving away from the High Street and to online.[citation needed] Misco expanded its business from onwards of 2005, winning customer satisfaction awards from PriceGrabber, a performance award from Hitwise and achieving accreditations in ISIS and IDIS.[5]
In April 2009, Misco announced plans for hiring remote sales agents on a work from home basis.[6] In June 2013, Systemax opened the SSC in Budapest, Hungary, to support the EMEA countries's processes. In July 2016, Systemax sold Misco Germany to CANCOM SE.[2] In March 2017, Systemax sold its EMEA Technology Products Group excluding its French operations to Hilco Capital Limited.[1] On 19 October 2017, after an unsuccessful turnaround, Misco UK entered into administration.[7]
On 12 December 2017, Misco Sweden filed for bankruptcy.[8] On 7 June 2019, it was announced that the UK Computer Group (since renamed The Comet Group) had purchased the Misco Brand in the United Kingdom. The management team consists of a number of ex employees of Misco, and they have stated the intention was to relaunch misco.co.uk on 1 July 2019.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Systemax Further Streamlines Operations To Increase Focus On Its Profitable North American Industrial Products And France IT Businesses" (Press release). PR Newswire. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Systemax Announces Sale Of German Operations To CANCOM SE" (Press release). Port Washington, New York: PR Newswire. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ Gordon McKibben (1998). Cutting Edge: Gillette's Journey to Global Leadership. Harvard Business Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-87584-725-2.
- ^ Simply Computers suffers big redundancies
- ^ Misco accreditation awards Archived 19 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Misco GM Sandy Price interviewed by Hexus.tv
- ^ "Misco UK goes bust". 19 October 2017.
- ^ "Nya ägaren blev inget lyft – nu går den klassiska återförsäljaren i konkurs" (in Swedish).
- ^ "Exclusive: Misco returns to the UK | CRN". channelweb.co.uk. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.