Tiny keeps it small as it moves into high street

Tiny Computers is to open 30 high street stores this year, turning its back on out-of-town shopping centres.

In December 1996, Tiny?s turnover was #13 million. It is now the third largest direct vendor in the UK.

The company is investing #2.4 million in the new showrooms, which will be focused primarily in the south of England. Stores will open in Ealing and Bromley in Feb-ruary. These will be followed by the opening of a flagship store on Tottenham Court Road, London, and will eventually include shops in Aberdeen and Dublin, Tiny?s first store outside the UK.

Phil Morris, retail development manager at Tiny, said the stores would not be massive PC warehouses. ?Our showrooms are fairly small but customers should be able to get whatever they want. We?ve gone for good secondary high street positions with a good balance between rent and traffic,? he said.

Tiny has 18 existing stores and opened 12 of those in the last half of 1996. Two of its stores had to be relocated in 1996; one was the Manchester store which was affected by the IRA bomb in June.