ComputerWare, 343
Sansome Street.
|
In April, 2001,
Las Vegas-based Knightsbridge Holdings abruptly shut down the Bay Area chain
of ComputerWare stores including this location at 343 Sansome
Street. The Apple-only service center and retailer started in 1984 in a
single Palo Alto storefront and grew to a chain of 10 in Northern California.
For computer users who "think different" the ComputerWare stores were a
friendly, knowledgeable alternative to mega stores that carry everything
but are staffed with busy people who know nothing about what they carry.
Managers at the Sansome Street store once explained, "They know less and
less about more and more until they know nothing about everything. We know
everything about less and less until we know everything about nothing."
Faced with diminishing market share for Macintosh computers, Knightsbridge
pulled the plug on April 3 to the surprise of industry, customers, and even
employees who showed up for work and were told to clear out. By 2005, Mac
users had also lost the MACadam store
at 1062 Folsom Street between 6th and 7th while the Apple
Store on Stockton thrived. |
