In 1981, the original Computer City was founded by Leonard and Myrna Simon in Costa Mesa, California.

Len Simon sat on the original Apple Retail Council while Myrna was in charge of HR.

Within the first year, Computer City had added stores in Brea and Pasadena, California, and with the help of managers Mike Mostyn, Gordon Klatt and Greg Gadbois,[1] Computer City expanded to San Diego, Beverly Hills, Encino, Cerritos, and Torrance, California.

Retailers who offered business-to-business consultative services to sell computer systems could no longer afford expensive salespeople.

Taking the name of the Los Angeles retailer they had purchased two years earlier, Rick, Vee, and Joe Inatome gave rise to the first big-box merchandising concept – Computer City.

CompUSA, having a larger market share, bought the company, and in the process, shut down one of its smaller competitors.

They also operated Computer City Express stores which had no service center in them, nor did they offer classes.

The Westbury, New York, Incredible Universe was also within three miles of the above-mentioned CompUSA and Computer City.

Furthermore, until mid-1996, the floor staff did not have revenue quotas and were not paid on commission, though bonuses were applied for selling either the extended warranty Computer City Service Plan (CCSP) or in-store training classes.