Under the Radar:Even in Celtic Tiger Ireland, losing a job is still a big blow, but for Robert Brennan it turned out to be something of a blessing, writes Ciarán Brennan.

Brennan lost his job following the collapse of Irish computer retail chain Compustore in November 2004, but rather than look for a new job, he decided to set up his own business.

"It didn't appeal to me to go into a similar-type company. It would have been a bit soul-destroying, to be honest, and I felt I had the capability of doing more," he says.

Doing more involved him setting up a specialist store which concentrated on the sale of laptop computers, mobile accessories, mp3 players, iPods, computer music equipment and other accessories. Back then, before the days of easy-to- connect mobile broadband, Brennan says there was a gap in the market to cater for the mobile office.

"I always thought mobile content had legs," he said. "It was more complicated then and it did need specialist focus. Even trying to get your mobile phone hooked up to your laptop was a chore."

Spotting a niche in the market is one thing; moving to fill it is another. That takes money. Brennan's problem was that he was having difficulty accessing cash from the traditional sources - the banks.

"I also approached some private individuals," he says. "They were looking for too much, basically. They wanted to completely control the business. It would be like working for somebody else, which is what I wanted to avoid."

Instead, he sought and received a €20,000 loan from microfinance specialist First Step. Combined with €20,000 of his own cash, he went about setting up his business.

"I managed to turn €45,000 into €100,000 in a very short period of time," he says. "I purchased all the stock that was left over from Compustore, rented the Compustore premises and sold the stock on."

He also started to take in stock from Computstore's regular suppliers.

"I had an arrangement where I got in regular stock and sold it at a low margin, but we did a huge volume in a week, basically. We sold about €300,000 in a week and made enough money to open up our first store."

That was in the St Stephen's Green Centre. Against advice from a lot of people, he took a unit at the very top of the centre. It proved to be a wise choice. Rents proved to be cheaper than elsewhere in the centre, yet his shop benefited from being in one of Dublin's busiest shopping arenas.

One of the reasons behind Compustore's demise was competition from new players in the market such as PC World and Dixons. Brennan's business still had to survive in the face of such stiff competition.

Service is the differentiating factor, he says.

"We offer a service level higher than most people in that we will offer first-line support to people. We will be your first port of call if you've got problems, whereas a lot of people will just refer you to the helpline or back to the manufacturers."

The laptop shop also offers specialist equipment and accessories, he says.

"We are small and nimble. Others tend to concentrate on volume lines and get their sales people to focus on selling two to three products at any particular time, whereas we would have 70 or 80 different types of laptop. We will have a proper discussion with people and try to figure out what they want rather than what we want to try to push on to them."

It has proved to be a tremendous success for Brennan. The St Stephen's Green store opened in the summer of 2005 and was breaking even by Christmas. Within a year, he had opened a second shop, in Dundrum. This was followed by a third, in Santry, and very recently he opened his fourth shop, in Drogheda.

He has plans for a fifth shop by March of next year and he says that he may franchise the concept in the coming years.

He says he is happy to be taking some business back from the multinational chains.

"I could have sat on St Stephen's Green and made a good living out of it, but I didn't want to do that. It's good for the country if we can do something decent as an Irish retail chain for customers."

ON THE RECORD:

Name:Robert Brennan

Age:35

From:Born in England of Irish parents and returned to Ireland when he was 10. Lives in Dundrum in Dublin

Education:Degree in sociology and information studies from UCD, followed by a postgraduate diploma in Business Studies in Smurfit Business School. Did a computer course in UL

Admires:Michael O'Leary who he says has developed a strong profile and has done well internationally

Most likes to:Relax to music