Haddock Corporation

Haddock Corporation is an American consumer electronics and information technology consulting business based in Wichita, Kansas, which operated four Haddock Computer Center retail locations in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa. Founded as a software company, Haddock has been an Apple-authorized dealer and computer repair shop since 1984, the year the Macintosh computer was released.[1] Company founder and CEO Richard Haddock served on Apple's reseller advisory board for over ten years.[2] He is a member and one of the founders of the Apple Specialist Marketing Corporation.[3]

Haddock Corporation
TypePrivate
IndustryConsulting
Retail (defunct)
PredecessorWichita Software
Founded1978 (1978) in Wichita, Kansas, United States
FounderRichard Haddock
Number of locations
4 stores (1977–2014)
Area served
ServicesApple sales and service
Websitehttp://www.gohaddock.com

History

Richard Haddock founded the Haddock Corporation in 1977 as a way to establish the first of his Haddock Computer Center stores in Wichita, Kansas, the same year.[4] A computer programmer by trade, Haddock was also active in software development. In 1978, he developed the application "Petroleum Accountant" for the Wichita oil company Parrish Corporation.[1] The software operated on the IBM 5110, IBM 5120, and IBM System/23 Datamaster, and was widely distributed.[5]

In 1979, Haddock's store began the stocking Apple II, establishing a long-lived relationship with Apple Computer that lasted until Haddock's Computer Center operations went defunct.[6] In January 1984, Apple reached out to Haddock to convince him to sell the new Macintosh computer on its release. While the store had sold IBM PC compatibles occasionally in the years following,[7] Haddock's stock of Apple products represented the bulk of their profit and earned the store a local reputation.[8] In 1987, a second Haddock Computer Center location opened up in Salina, Kansas.[9]

During Gil Amelio's tenure as Apple CEO, Haddock and other retailers worked with Apple's Paddy Wong and Loretta Flores to develop the Apple Specialist program intended to strengthen Apple's retail channel.[2]

At its peak in 2005, Haddock had three Computer Center locations across three states: Wichita, Kansas, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Des Moines, Iowa.[10] The company's Oklahoma City store was opened up at the behest of Apple in 2002;[6] in 2004, it generated US$1 million in sales.[11] A Des Moines, Iowa, location followed in 2005.[4] However, within the next three years a second independent Apple Specialist retailer opened up in Oklahoma City, and in 2005, Apple themselves raised an Apple Store there.[6] Faced with too much competition, leading to a steep drop in projected sales for 2006 of just $250,000, Haddock was forced to shutter the Oklahoma location in May 2006.[6][11]

After his stepson David Pearson died of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive cancer of the brain, at the age of 16, Haddock consolidated his Computer Center and LivingSound businesses into the parent Haddock Corporation and closed all locations. In his son's wake, he formed the Dragon Master Foundation, a nonprofit organization for the development of specific genome databases for cancer researchers.[12]

See also

References
  1. Mazzullo, Lainie (May 31, 2002). "Haddock Computer president combats thin margins head-on". Wichita Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  2. Dodd, Weldon (October 21, 2008). "Macs in Your Neighborhood: Des Moines, IA". The Apple Blog. The GigaOM Network. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  3. "Apple Specialist Dealers Announce Big Growth in 2007". Business Wire. February 27, 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  4. Danely-Greiner, Kristin (September 3, 2013). "Computer store focused on Apple products". The Des Moines Register. Gannett Company: 9 – via Newspapers.com. ProQuest 1430511947
  5. "Haddock History". Haddock Corporation. Archived from the original on February 12, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  6. Wilson, Bill (September 13, 2006). "Apple retailer expects a rival". The Wichita Eagle. Tribune Content Agency: 6B – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Howell, Marc (February 14, 1997). "Keeping computers running is vital job". Wichita Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  8. Howell, Marc (April 25, 1997). "Haddock Computer fights to overcome Apple's woes". Wichita Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved January 4, 2008..
  9. Staff writer (August 2, 1987). "Computer store opens". The Salina Journal: 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Staff writer (October 13, 2005). "Analysts, Retailers Laud Apple's Video Play". eWeek. Ziff-Davis – via Gale.
  11. Stafford, Jim (July 8, 2006). "New Apple store adds footprint in market". McClatchy-Tribune Business News. Washington, D.C.: Tribune Content Agency: 1. ProQuest 463255472.
  12. Wilson, Bill (November 12, 2014). "Richard Haddock's next project: Cancer research". Wichita Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015.
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