Ciarán McCormack, CEO of Select Technology Group, DID Electrical and Blink 24 joined the Functional & Fabulous podcast. This episode was recorded at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, as part of StudioForty9's Excellence in Ecommerce 2026 conference. His story is one of the most inspirational tales in Irish retail: a former professional magician who navigated examinership, a global pandemic, a management buyout, and rapid international expansion to build one of Ireland's leading multi-brand technology retail groups.
From the Magic Circle to the Boardroom
Ciarán's career didn't begin in a boardroom; it began on a stage. In his childhood, he was captivated by performance, and by his mid-teens he was performing professionally. It's the magic years he credits for the most formative skills of his career. Performing for children's parties, dealing with unpredictable crowds and demanding parents, taught him how to read a room, command attention, manage body language, and stay composed under pressure.
Navigating Through Examinership
When Ciarán took over as Managing Director of CompuB in 2015, it was Ireland's only single-brand Apple reseller. What followed was a period of rapid growth, expanding into the UK, opening a flagship in Harrods, acquiring an AO.com franchise, and building out locations across London. Then came the first real test: COVID-19. With stores closed overnight, stock locked inside, and revenue gone, the business entered examinership.
Ciarán describes the examinership process in almost philosophical terms; a uniquely Irish legal framework that wraps protective arms around a fundamentally good business going through a bad time.
Halfway through, he and the CFO, the Commercial Director concluded that a management buyout was the most viable path forward. They put their offer on the table, it was accepted, and one day later, the team owned the business. "We came out of the other side of credit," he reflects. Almost immediately, the work of rebuilding trust began and so one of the first strategic decisions was simple but powerful: change the name. CompuB became Select.
Acquisitions: Chase Margin, Not Revenue
For twenty-odd years, Ciarán says, the business was Apple. The brand is unparalleled but the margins are thin, and the rules are strict. That discipline forced Select to become incredibly efficient. But it also created the conditions for a shift in thinking when it came to acquisitions.
The turning point came when Select bought the IDEAS Group, a consumer electronics and appliances brand not known for premium positioning at the time of acquisition. Ciarán now has a clear framework for acquisitions: how quickly can we get our money back? The minimum threshold is three years. Every acquisition is evaluated against that number, and every new deal carries more risk than the last. "The risk magnifies every time," he says. What keeps him honest is a question he asks himself and his CFO every single day: Do you still want to do this?
The Amazon Problem and the Local Answer
How does an independent Irish retailer compete with Amazon? Ciarán doesn't dismiss the question, he leans into it. Amazon can deliver almost anything within 24 hours. No local business can match that on pure logistics.
But there's a category Amazon struggles with: large, complex, distress purchases. A washing machine breaks on a Sunday. You don't care about the brand. You need it now, installed, and working. Amazon can list it. But who delivers it, installs it, takes away the old one, and walks you through the setup?
Select's answer is a network of over 110 physical locations with genuine community roots, trained local staff, and the ability to offer the full service, from purchase to installation to aftersales support. The model is built around being the essential, local partner for those high-stress, big-ticket moments that online-only retailers simply can't serve well.
The long-term vision is a coalition of like-minded, locally embedded Irish retailers not competing against Amazon individually, but collectively becoming the obvious alternative.
Why Buy From Select Instead of Apple Direct?
Select's biggest competitor is also its most important supplier. Apple sells directly to consumers, same products, same prices, no discounting permitted. So why would anyone come to Select?
Ciarán has developed a clear, three-part value proposition:
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Free delivery and no hidden charges. Apple charges for delivery. Select doesn't. That alone changes the conversation.
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A free three-year warranty on every product. Apple offers the standard one-year warranty. Select provides all three for free. The cost of building that into the model is outweighed by the trust it creates.
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SMS tech support. When a customer has a problem with their device, Select sends an encrypted link by text. It opens a browser session, turns on the video camera, and a trained technician walks them through the fix — live, face-to-face, without the customer needing to leave home. It's intimate, fast, and human in a way that a chatbot never is.
Beyond these three pillars, Select also offers free training programmes and courses — recorded and available on demand — showing customers how to get the most out of their devices. "Why buy from us?" Ciarán asks. "We support you. We educate you. We solve your problems." The proposition isn't about price. It's about the relationship that comes after the sale.
Want to explore how customer experience, physical retail strategy, or bold acquisition thinking could unlock growth for your business? Watch the full conversation with Ciarán McCormack here, or listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
