IBM electric was the one you'd see in a high end office. If he's got an IBM he's a serious businessman or a well paid writer.
Most companies had a variety of models, so you could just say he'd acquired a 'top of the line' model and gotten rid of the 'high school kids' ' model he'd been using.
Or you could say he'd gotten rid of the pawn shop typewriter he'd been using and picked up a fancy one at Macy's. In those days, Macy's would have been considered pretty fancy.