ESCOM, the Irvine-based computer manufacturer and retailer, is

celebrating its first year of business in Scotland with the completion

of the initial phase of its UK expansion strategy. It started with a

prototype store in Glasgow and culminated last week in Newcastle with

the opening of its 24th outlet.

Operating from a 40,000 sq ft #2m warehouse and distribution plant at

Riverside Business Park, the company has been selling more than 2500 PC

systems a month. It now has a 2% market share and is on target for a

first-year turnover of around #30m.

Managing director David Smith reckons that much of Escom's success is

due to its philosophy of offering a ''touchy-feely'' experience when

buying a PC.

He said: ''We believe that what we're offering is quite unique. We are

a manufacturer, but we are also selling direct to the public via our

retail outlets -- you can't get any more direct than that. The whole

set-up in the stores is designed to encourage people to feel at ease

when they are buying.''

For anyone who has ever been intimidated by the prospect of selecting

a PC from the bewildering array of brand names and then installing

software, the idea of being able to ''test drive'' a fully-loaded system

must be pretty appealing.

Escom's no-frills strategy is aimed at the Soho -- small office home

office -- sector, and Mr Smith believes his company can compete with the

big boys in the PC world, even at a time when the industry is locked in

a price struggle to secure business.

He said: ''We don't have protracted distribution channels; we do have

low overheads and our sensibly-specified systems can be purchased

off-the-shelf preloaded with the appropriate software.

The company's future expansion plans include opening further stores in

the South-east and broadening its corporate customer base. It has

already achieved notable success in the educational and local government

sectors.