Escom (computer corp)
ESCOM (formerly Schmitt Computer Systeme GmbH ) was a company that was involved in the trade and manufacture of computers and computer accessories.
Manfred Schmitt from Darmstadt had begun in 1983 in his music shops chain organ - Schmitt, also offer computer. 1991, " Schmitt Computer Systeme GmbH " was in " ESCOM Computer GmbH " renamed. The ESCOM brand was created from the composition of the letter " S" (pronounced "ES" ) of Schmitt and "COM" for computers.
In 1993, the ESCOM AG ( Heppenheim ) took over the insolvent, but is listed on the stock exchange Hako Photo AG in Bochum. With the subsequent renaming of Hako Photo AG ESCOM AG was then listed. My business grew so fast that in 1994 they already dominated 11.2 % of the German PC market. Turnover was 2.35 billion marks. There were several hundred retail stores in ten European countries to ESCOM. ESCOM had made it to Germany 's second- largest PC seller after Vobis. ESCOM made in Heppenheim also even - in the sense that prefabricated components such as motherboards, cases, hard drives, etc. were installed ( " assembler " or ugs " screwdriver ").
ESCOM shareholders have included the time it had still a family-owned mail-order source (25 %), the PC manufacturer or chip supplier Siemens -Nixdorf (12.5 %) who had not yet merged with Hypo Bayerische Vereinsbank (16%) and the Gold-Zack Werke AG ( 7%). The remaining shares are in free float and was in the hands of the founder.
Decline
ESCOM acted in the PC market as an aggressive low-price suppliers, with chronically low margins and therefore high risk. The decisive break-in happened for Christmas 1995, when they shopped as apparent bargain larger amounts of Intel Pentium processors with 75 MHz and she lay in stock for Christmas. As the competition but only slightly higher prices have been able to offer PCs with 90 MHz clock frequency, ESCOM remained sitting on the stocks, which proved fatal. The German sales company ESCOM stand but in spite of this shopping mistakes for Christmas 1995 was relatively well there.
There were strategic mistakes that led to the final downfall. The problem was the interest in a joint venture for monitors together with a Korean monitor manufacturers with manufacturing facilities in Ireland, the monitors produced with a very high error rate. The ambition of expansion throughout Europe led the buyout of an English and a Dutch computer distribution chain to losses. The stocks of these chains - particularly the English - were based on the conversion extraordinarily high and caused corresponding losses. Taken together these losses meant the end for ESCOM.
In fiscal year 1995, the balance sheets Escoms reported DM 185 million to losses. The main shareholders did nothing to save. The following spring, then had to be declared bankrupt.
Connection to Commodore and Amiga
In spring 1995, ESCOM has bought the rights to the Amiga from the bankrupt Commodore and announced his intention to rebuild the C64 and the Amiga computer. The Amiga models A4000T and A1200 have actually been reissued and with some success selling through the new subsidiary company Amiga Technologies GmbH ( Bensheim ). The first alteration of the Amiga Walker, was shown at the CeBit 96 for the first time to the public, but never went into production - because ESCOM was previously dissolved.
The set-top boxes manufacturers VisCorp from Chicago (USA) made in April 1996, first hit the headlines when he planned the takeover of the former ESCOM daughter Amiga Technologies GmbH ( Bensheim ).
Supposedly VisCorp and ESCOM Been partner and knew each other from the time when Bill Buck and ESCOM - founder Manfred Schmitt 1995, she attended the creditors meeting of Commodore, Amiga where the rights were first auctioned. After the completion of the sale of the rights in April 1995 VisCorp started negotiations on an Amiga license agreement with the winning bidder - that is, the new Amiga parent company ESCOM - on to use the technology for the production of set- top boxes. These licenses they received in January 1996.
After the bankruptcy of ESCOM drew slowly and sale negotiations began - the takeover plans were announced publicly on 11 April 1996. Supposedly Bill Buck and Raquel Velasco his wife have responded well initially paid from June to November 1996, the salaries, taxes and social contributions of the Amiga staff out of pocket. ESCOM even presented on 3 July 1996 comparison application and on 15 July 1996 had to be applied for the connection bankruptcy.
ESCOM was subsequently taken over by the computer systems store chain Comtech and initially continued as ESCOM 2001 GmbH. Amiga was not sold to VisCorp, but on the PC consignor Gateway 2000.