In the "making lemons out of lemonade" department, Tech Data Corp. is peddling more than computers in these down times. Some of its prime, unused office space is also up for sale.
During the company's annual meeting last week, chief financial officer Jeffery P. Howells said he has a contract in hand to sell one of the two office buildings that the company has shuttered on its seven-building Clearwater campus.
Tech Data officials would not disclose the buyer for the 75,000-square-foot building, which is adjacent to another, vacant 70,000-square-foot building.
But Howells said it would be misleading to assume that ridding itself of excess real estate is a panacea for a rough economic climate. Even if it shed a third of its unused property, the multibillion-dollar tech company would net only $300,000 to $400,000.
"Two-thirds of our costs are people," Howells said. In that category, Tech Data has done a fair amount of shedding as well, cutting 400 jobs since January.
