be.

16 - Wednesday, August 28,

When Computerland
did’ studies on favorable
store locations, North
Vancouver, was at the top
of its list for visibility and
potential.

“The reason we located
here was because of the
high visibility and traffic
volume," said store man-
ager Glenn McKay. ‘“‘In-
stead of driving over the
(Lions Gate) bridge, we
wanted North Vancouver
businesses to
automatically think of
Computerland on the
North Shore.” So they
chose 1290 Marine Drive.

Although Computeriand
has a good share of the
home computer market
with the Apple product
line, McKay said they
were .alsn making strong
intoads in the business
system market, already
establishing links with
such major North Van-
couver business ac-
‘counts as ICBC, Genstar
and Canadian Occidental
Petroleum, as weil as
many small to medium
size businesses. ;

The success of any

-umputer system im-
plementation is not just
buying the “sight box,"

it's a combination of
things, explained manag-
er MekKay.. Choosing. the
software, selecting the
right hardware to run that
particular software
package, and the neces-
sary training . and ‘support
to achieve Maximum
benefit of the system.
Computerland was_ first
to fecognize the need for

1985 + North Shore News

immediate and on-going
customer support. They
have a customer hotline,
training on popular soft-
ware packages, and a
sales force with a high
degree of microcomputer
expertise who can give
in-store demonstrations
and on-site service.
Computeriland is the
world's largest retailer of
microcomputers, with
over 900 locations and

Advertising Feature

A trip to Computerland

stores on every continent.
Although it's a California
based company with
head office in Hayward,
Cal., all stores are fran-
chises, with most of the
stores in Western Canada
owned by Winnipeg bas-

ed Share-Cat Corp.
Leading makes of
microcomputer
equipment—Apple, [8M.

See computer
Page 17

NEWS photo Stuart Ozvis

_ INEZ Wadland, Sandy Chow, and Ken Flanders
of Computerland.

Designer Blinds is go-
ing to become A Shade
Better, literally.

“As soon as the awn-
ing’s up and the logo's
finished. we will be teiling
everyone that we're a
shade better "said
Sharon Johnson about
her 1705 Marine Dr. store.

Under the new store
name of A Shade Better,
Sharon Johnson and her
partner, Anne, who is also
her daughter-in-law, will
be able to offer their
customers more choices.

“We buy collectively ©

with five other indepen-
dent stores from six dif-
ferent suppliers,’'Sharon
Johnson said. ‘‘And
because of this volume
buying, we can buy bet-
ter, give good value,
guarantee our product, and
still stress service.”

“Satisfying our customers
is what it's about, and if
that means doing 30 per

cent more in-home
measuring — then that's
what we'll do.

Disenchanted with just
offering a limited range of
window

treatments, the

eo

Better service

Johnsons decided to
bypass the franchise: and
go it alone.

“Now we can offer a
more complete line of
window treatments to our
customers, and with the
addition of drapery
fabrics we can do the

complete home,”’ she ex-
plained.
CTs

“starting a
business is like
giving birth and
raising a child.
Every thinking
breathing
moment has to
be spent on the
business.”’

“It's a positive move for
us and for our custom-
ers,"" said Johnson, ad-
ding that there are _liter-
ally hundreds of ‘ouvre
and venetian blind colors
from which to choose
now.

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In the past seven months,
since opening their window
covering business at 1705
Marine Drive, Sharon and
Ann are the first to admit that
they have “learned a lot’’.

After helping one of her
sons decorate his new
home, Sharon discovered
that “Levolor wasn't the
only company who made
blinds" and decided to go
into business. .

Their building, located
at Tatlow and Marine
Drive, was eventually gutted
and remodelled. ° ‘‘You
wouldn't know it now, but it
used to be a garage,'' she
recalled. “We had to junk all
kinds of parts, too.’

Located on a@ very ac-
cessible corner, Johnson
knows having a_ parking
lot Is a big convenience
for shoppers. They shopped
for months for this location.

Whenever you visit
Sharon’s and. Anne's
store in ihe future they
guarantee that you'll
agree it is ‘A Shade. Bet-
ter' in. more than name
alone. an

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Full service department

738 MARINE DR.
NORTH VAN. 986-4266