 | |
| Company type | Aktiengesellschaft |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computers |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Defunct | 15 July 1996 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy andLiquidation |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Manfred Schmitt, Founder |
| Products | Computers,ICT |
| Brands | Commodore International |
Escom AG (stylized in uppercase; previouslySchmitt Computer Systems) was a German computer company, best known inGermany, theNetherlands,United Kingdom and theUnited States as the successful purchaser ofCommodore International and the Amiga trademarks in 1995.
Escom was founded by Manfred Schmitt ofDarmstadt,West Germany as the computer division of his music company in 1986. It became a separate company in 1991. In 1993, it became a publicly traded company, and it grew rapidly, controlling 11.2% of the market of German PCs by 1994.
During 1992 and 1993, a British operation was set up with a distribution and assembly base inIrvine, North Ayrshire and a small number of retail stores. These followed the model established in Germany, with small town centre shops which would customise PCs to order, rather than the out of town superstores and mail order businesses which dominated the market in the United Kingdom.
In February 1995, Escom's retail presence on the high streets of the United Kingdom suddenly expanded massively, when it took over many branches of theRumbelows electrical chain, which were being sold off by Rumbelows ownerThorn EMI. Also in April 1995, Escom boughtCommodore International for US$14 million, primarily to get the Commodore and Amiga brand names.
Escom was one of two companies to bid for the Commodore and Amiga Brand names and assets. They won the bidding process againstDell and Creative Electronics International. Many other companies were involved in the buyout but did not bid such as Commodore UK andSamsung.[1][2] It started using the Commodore name on computers sold inEurope, and established a separate division forAmiga related technologies.[3]
The company grew too quickly, however, and lost 185 millionGerman Mark that year. With no bailout from its shareholders, the company declaredbankruptcy on 15 July 1996, and wasliquidated.[4] The Commodore trademarks were purchased the following year byTulip Computers, while the remaining trademarks, together with the full set of patents, copyrights and other intellectual property, were acquired byGateway 2000.[5]
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| Computers† |
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† Listed in chronological order by category | |||||||||||
