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The personal computer industry has been battered recently by flattening demand, intense competition and fierce price wars, resulting in huge losses even at industry stalwarts International Business Machines and Compaq Computer.
But while many other computer makers have been restructuring and retrenching, Packard Bell Electronics in Chatsworth has been quietly gaining ground.
Industry analysts estimate that Packard Bell's sales have been growing five times faster than the industry average. In the six years since it branched into personal computers, Packard Bell has captured 4% of the U.S. market, to rank among the top domestic PC makers as measured by the number of units shipped.
The privately held company is related to the old Packard Bell that made radios and televisions only by its name, which the current owners acquired in late 1985.
The company doesn't make public its revenue or profit figures, but industry analysts estimate that shipments of Packard Bell's computers-which retail for as little as $800 on up to $5,000, depending on the amount of power desired-topped $700 million in 1991.