Mac store buys defunct chain's name

Five months after closing, Mac chain ComputerWare appears poised for a comeback of sorts.

Elite Computers & Software, the Macintosh store across the street from Apple Computer's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., has purchased the ComputerWare name and is considering reopening some of the former ComputerWare locations. The company had 10 sites in the San Francisco Bay Area when it abruptly shut down this spring.

"I think there is still a great opportunity in this marketplace," said Geoff Westerfield, who had been vice president of marketing at ComputerWare and has assumed the same role at Elite.

Although ComputerWare the company is no longer around, the name appears destined to live on.

"ComputerWare had been around for many years and was a valued name with a unique place in the Macintosh community," Elite CEO Thomas Armes said in a statement Wednesday. "ComputerWare was especially synonymous with Apple Macintosh in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is the premier Macintosh market in the country. I'm quite sure we can put the name ComputerWare to good use in the near future."

In addition to the name, Westerfield said, Elite acquired ComputerWare's phone numbers. The company has gotten a steady stream of phone calls wondering whether the stores might reopen, he said.