The Computer Store

The Computer Store, founded by Dick Heiser in July 1975, is the world's first dedicated computer retailer for the consumer market.

Establishment
In May 1975, Heiser attended the in, California, where he saw the , the world's first microcomputer from. He had just left his position as a systems analyst at to establish the Arrowhead Computer Company in hopes of opening a bookstore about computers. On June 15, 1975, Heiser attended a meeting of the Southern California Computer Society about the Altair 8800, finding it to be completely packed with an overflow crowd. Seeing the high level of interest, Heiser invested $10,000 to open The Computer Store in West Los Angeles exactly one month later on July 15, 1975. The 1,200 square feet (112 m2) of space cost $225 a month at the time. The store carried Altair 8800 kits and grossed $10,000 within its first month. However, MITS insisted on having all orders prepaid and the store sometimes did not have any inventory, despite receiving money from the store and customers.

Expansion
By October 1975, Heiser's wife Lori left her software job at the to help at the store, which was outgrowing its original location. Most early customers were hobbyists who wanted to play games. In December of that year, Paul Terrell and founded similar stores, Byte Shop and Computer Mart, respectively, in Mountain View, California and New York City. In Spring 1976, Heiser's store was moved from West Los Angeles to. At the end of 1977, Heiser decided to end his dealership arrangement with MITS as they prohibited the store from selling competing products, such as the Apple II. The Computer Store then sold products from Apple Computer,, and. Despite its profitability, Heiser sold the business in 1982 due to shifts in the computer industry, and dedicated himself to writing and teaching.