Circuit City is going belly up.

[genlock]

http://consumerist.com/5074161/breaking ... 155-stores

[cgarison]

I am really having some pretty big issues with Gawker Media and there recent stories. Circuit City circling the drain and closing 155 stores became apparent news back at the end of September with everything but the release of letters to affected stores.

Last week, Jalopnik, another Gawker blog, announced the discontinuation of the Hybrid Hemi Durango and Aspen, yet this fact was revealed around October 15th by Chrysler when they served up the press release that the Newark, DE assembly plant was to close by Dec. 31st. Jalopnik did not catch the death of the Hybrid SUV until CNet ran an article this past week. Shame on Gawker for not paying attention.

Even Gawker missed bunch of big automotive news Friday when GM and Chrysler were denied assistance by the US Treasury.

(sigh)

[cgarison]

More info on the Gawker Media blogosphere miss on the US Treasury rescue for the automakers.

Looks like Nissan-Renault has walked away from the table in the last few hours to pick up scraps of Chrysler and the US Treasury bailout of the automakers is not going to get a deal ready until after Tuesday and the election results are reported.

[Ace Purple]

Not quite belly-up, but Circuit City is seriously cutting back...

The closure of 155 stores represents 20 percent of the company’s current number of 711 stores in North America.

Story source

[cgarison]

Here is the article where things were posted as "rumor." I guess the rumor was the fact that as many as 15 stores were on the fence as to whether they were going to close or not.

http://www.crn.com/retail/211201869

I know that as early as October 10th, retail insiders were talking big as to CC's demise. October 17th was a really bad day for the stock in which we knew by the end of the weekend a close list was just around the corner.

This is really sad. 2007 was the year of CompUSA demise with January/February with the closing of half the stores and the balance cleared out by the end of the year and the Florida stores and internet properties now owned by Tiger Direct. With 2008 looking like the beginning of the end for Circuit City, is the tradename and internet properties strong enough to be picked up by another company????

Most Wall St.analysts blame the death of big box stores on the roll out of high definition TV and the confusion of digital, HD DVD/Blueray, LCD/Plasma, and all that other vegatable soup mumbo-jumbo regarding this new technology.

[Big Media]

Let me preface this by saying despite Circuit City's evident lack of care for the customer, their total lack of customer service, and their poor leadership, I still prefer Circuit City over Best Buy 10 to 1. I hate Best Buy with a passion. While I do shop at Best Buy, I would NEVER buy a big ticket item from them.

Over the last 12 months I have purchased a 50" DLP TV, a Sony HandyCam, two Garmin GPSs, countless video games for the kids... likely totaling over three grand just from Circuit City. From Best Buy, I have bought a few DVDs, a couple of Netgear routers, and a flash drive... less than $300... 10 to 1.

Anyhoo, I would hate to see them go under. Then, I would have to buy from Sears, Wal-Mart, Target, and Office Depot.

[Ace Purple]

My favorite Circuit City memory is when I managed to talk someone there into selling me Madden 2002 (in August 2001) for the PS2 four days ahead of the street date.

I never had any problems with customer service there, though the biggest purchase I ever made there, my stereo, still works fine to this day.

[cgarison]

Here is the list of stores closing. WV has been spared. PA has been spared.

OTOH: AZ is being abandoned and the CA stores footprint are getting cut in at least half.

Store # Store Name Street Address City State ZIP
3280 ANNISTON 704 SOUTH QUINTARD AVE ANNISTON AL 36201
829 TRUSSVILLE 3555 ROOSEVELT BLVD TRUSSVILLE AL 35235
3240 FAYETTEVILLE 744 EAST JOYCE BLVD FAYETTEVILLE AR 72703
441 AVONDALE 10140 W MCDOWELL RD AVONDALE AZ 85392
3330 CHANDLER 3456 WEST CHANDLER BLVD CHANDLER AZ 85226
3580 GILBERT 2817 S MARKET ST GILBERT AZ 85295
3760 GOODYEAR 15433 WEST MCDOWELL RD GOODYEAR AZ 85338
436 MESA 1530 WEST SOUTHERN AVE MESA AZ 85202
3337 SUPERSTITION SPRINGS 1515 S POWER RD MESA AZ 85206
3362 ARROWHEAD 7645 WEST BELL RD PEORIA AZ 85382
435 PHOENIX METRO 9801 N METRO PKWY E PHOENIX AZ 85051
3341 NORTH SCOTTSDALE 7000 EAST MAYO BLVD PHOENIX AZ 85054
3426 CAMELBACK 1670 EAST CAMELBACK RD PHOENIX AZ 85016
3558 HAPPY VALLEY 2501 W HAPPY VALLEY RD PHOENIX AZ 85085
4314 QUEEN CREEK 21002 S ELLSWORTH LOOP QUEEN CREEK AZ 85242
437 SCOTTSDALE 8929 EAST INDIAN BEND RD SCOTTSDALE AZ 85250
3301 INDUSTRY 1600 S AZUSA AVE CITY OF INDUSTRY CA 91748
422 COMPTON 120 EAST COMPTON BLVD COMPTON CA 90220
235 CONCORD 2030 DIAMOND BLVD CONCORD CA 94520
236 DUBLIN 7153 AMADOR PLAZA ROAD DUBLIN CA 94568
449 ESCONDIDO 1138 WEST VALLEY PARKWAY ESCONDIDO CA 92025
4303 FAIRFIELD 1560 GATEWAY BLVD FAIRFIELD CA 94533
4230 NORTH FONTANA 16685 SIERRA LAKES PARKWAY FONTANA CA 92336
4243 FOOTHILL RANCH 26542 TOWNE CENTRE DRIVE FOOTHILL RANCH CA 92610
4300 FREMONT 43706 CHRISTY ST FREMONT CA 94538
1628 MERCED 3275 R STREET MERCED CA 95348
3749 MIRA LOMA 6397 PATS RANCH RD MIRA LOMA CA 91752
4228 MORENO BEACH 27610 EUCALYPTUS AVE MORENO VALLEY CA 92555
4229 MORGAN HILL 1007 COCHRANE RD MORGAN HILL CA 95037
3394 MURRIETA 24390 VILLAGE WALK PL MURRIETA CA 92562
3766 EAST PALO ALTO 1731 E BAYSHORE RD PALO ALTO CA 94303
3402 PITTSBURG 4300 DELTA GATEWAY BLVD PITTSBURG CA 94565
3312 POMONA 2735 S TOWNE AVE POMONA CA 91766
3374 HILLTOP 4100 KLOSE WAY RICHMOND CA 94806
426 RIVERSIDE 10255 MAGNOLIA AVE RIVERSIDE CA 92503
238 SAN RAFAELS 330 BELLAM BLVD SAN RAFAEL CA 94901
413 SANTA BARBARA 3761 STATE STREET SANTA BARBARA CA 93105
1629 SANTA MARIA 1535 SOUTH BRADLEY RD SANTA MARIA CA 93454
3303 THOUSAND OAKS 600 WEST HILLCREST DR THOUSAND OAKS CA 91360
4301 VISTA 1715 HACIENDA DRIVE VISTA CA 92081
3380 N COLORADO 7670 NORTH ACADEMY BLVD COLORADO SPRINGS CO 80920
4240 NORTHGLENN 10602 MELODY DR EAST NORTHGLENN CO 80234
4245 PARKER 9851 S PARKER RD PARKER CO 80134
1816 CONNECTICUT OUTLET 130 BOSTON POST RD ORANGE CT 06477
893 ORANGE PARK 6155 YOUNGERMAN CIRCLE JACKSONVILLE FL 32244
4278 OAKLEAF TOWN CENTER 9625 CROSSHILL BLVD JACKSONVILLE FL 32222
4273 NAPLES 13585 TAMIAMI TRAIL NORTH NAPLES FL 34110
3268 WEST ORLANDO 751 GOOD HOMES RD ORLANDO FL 32818
3298 PANAMA CITY 427 EAST 23RD STREET PANAMA CITY FL 32405
4200 TALLAHASSEE 2425 APALACHEE PARKWAY TALLAHASSEE FL 32301
3423 VERO BEACH 6560 20TH STREET VERO BEACH FL 32966
3598 ACWORTH 3384 COBB PARKWAY STE 100 ACWORTH GA 30101
3107 NORTH POINT 6290 NORTH POINT PARKWAY ALPHARETTA GA 30022
834 CAMP CREEK 3755 CARMIA DR SW ST1100 ATLANTA GA 30331
880 AKERS MILLS 2971 AKERS MILL RD SE ATLANTA GA 30339
886 BUCKHEAD 3637 PEACHTREE RD NE ATLANTA GA 30319
3222 PERIMETER 1165 PERIMETER CENTER WEST ATLANTA GA 30338
1615 ATHENS 4110 ATLANTA HIGHWAY BOGART GA 30622
3411 MALL OF GEORGIA 3295 BUFORD DR SUITE 100 BUFORD GA 30519
3416 CONYERS 1540 DOGWOOD DR SE CONYERS GA 30013
4252 CUMMING 320 PEACHTREE PARKWAY CUMMING GA 30041
3406 DOUGLASVILLE 9365 THE LANDING DR STE A DOUGLASVILLE GA 30135
3220 GWINNETT MALL 3850 VENTURE DR DULUTH GA 30096
4279 HIRAM PAULDING 4749 JIMMY LEE SMITH PKWY HIRAM GA 30141
712 TOWN CENTER 1185 ERNEST W BARRETT PKWY KENNESAW GA 30144
3201 MACON 3670 EISENHOWER PARKWAY MACON GA 31206
884 SOUTHLAKE 1906 MT ZION RD MORROW GA 30260
3421 NEWNAN 1098 HIGHWAY 34 E NEWNAN GA 30265
3297 SNELLVILLE 1670 SCENIC HWY N STE 124 SNELLVILLE GA 30078
4319 WARNER ROBINS 2951 WATSON BOULEVARD WARNER ROBINS GA 31093
4234 ARLINGTON HEIGHTS 370 EAST RAND RD ARLINGTON HEIGHT IL 60004
3758 BATAVIA 1980 W FABYAN PARKWAY BATAVIA IL 60510
1818 BLOOMINGDALE OUTLET 152 S GARY AVE SUITE101 BLOOMINGDALE IL 60108
3790 BOLINGBROOK 111 S WEBER RD BOLINGBROOK IL 60490
3122 CALUMET CITY 1747 EAST-WEST ROAD CALUMET CITY IL 60409
3794 NORTH AVE 1030 W NORTH AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60622
4126 COUNTRYSIDE 9950 JOLIET RD COUNTRYSIDE IL 60525
3171 CRYSTAL LAKE 4483 US HIGHWAY 14 CRYSTAL LAKE IL 60014
3123 JOLIET 3150 TONTI DR JOLIET MALL JOLIET IL 60431
3795 KILDEER 20505 N RAND RD BLDG E LAKE ZURICH IL 60047
3118 SKOKIE 5701 TOUHY AVE NILES IL 60714
4268 OSWEGO 1720 DOUGLAS RD OSWEGO IL 60543
4195 HOFFMAN ESTATES 100 WEST HIGGINS ROAD SOUTH BARRINGTON IL 60010
3124 VERNON HILLS 551 NORTH MILWAUKEE AVE VERNON HILLS IL 60061
4109 CLARKSVILLE 1500 GREENTREE BOULEVARD CLARKSVILLE IN 47129
1814 INDIANAPOLIS OUTLET 10235 EAST WASHINGTON ST INDIANAPOLIS IN 46229
3728 LAFAYETTE 2121 SAGAMORE PKWY S LAFAYETTE IN 47905
3802 SOUTHBEND 1290 EAST IRELAND RD SOUTH BEND IN 46614
3829 OAK PARK MALL 12010 WEST 95TH STREET LENEXA KS 66215
3299 OVERLAND PARK 12020 METCALF AVE OVERLAND PARK KS 66213
841 LEXINGTON 2434 NICHOLASVILLE RD. LEXINGTON KY 40503
520 OUTER LOOP 4805 OUTER LOOP LOUISVILLE KY 40219
3704 PADUCAH 3430 JAMES SANDERS BLVD PADUCAH KY 42001
3511 BATON ROUGE 8640 AIRLINE HIGHWAY BATON ROUGE LA 70815
3507 VETERANS 2421 VETERANS MEMORIAL BV KENNER LA 70062
3506 WEST BANK 4945 LAPALCO BLVD MARRERO LA 70072
3552 SLIDELL 61119 AIRPORT RD SLIDELL LA 70460
847 GOLDEN RING 8823 PULASKI HIGHWAY BALTIMORE MD 21237
821 BELTSVILLE 11011 BALTIMORE AVE BELTSVILLE MD 20705
825 MARLOW HEIGHTS 3551 32ND AVENUE MARLOW HEIGHTS MD 20748
3637 AUBURN HILLS 4612 BALDWIN RD AUBURN HILLS MI 48326
4211 BLOOMFIELD 2169 TELEGRAPH RD BLOOMFIELD MI 48302
3604 DEARBORN 5600 MERCURY DR DEARBORN MI 48126
3722 JACKSON 1511 BOARDMAN RD JACKSON MI 49202
1809 MUSKEGON OUTLET 1650 EAST SHERMAN BLVD MUSKEGON MI 49444
1880 PONTIAC OUTLET 550 N TELEGRAPH RD PONTIAC MI 48341
3860 ROCHESTER HILLS 2636 SOUTH ADAMS RD ROCHESTER HILLS MI 48307
534 FERGUSON 3344 PERSHALL RD FERGUSON MO 63135
3210 INDEPENDENCE MALL 18701 EAST 39TH ST S INDEPENDENCE MO 64057
3208 KANSAS CITY NORTH 8440 N MADISON AVE KANSAS CITY MO 64155
4224 SHOAL CREEK 8260 N DITZLER AVE KANSAS CITY MO 64158
3243 TUPELO 3834 MARKET CENTER DR TUPELO MS 38804
3228 CHARLOTTE UNIVERSITY 8215 UNIVERSITY CITY BLVD CHARLOTTE NC 28213
3671 FREEHOLD 4345 US HIGHWAY 9 FREEHOLD NJ 07728
3714 LIVINGSTON 530 ROUTE 10 LIVINGSTON NJ 07039
3763 SPARKS 125 DISC DRIVE SPARKS NV 89436
3661 BAY SHORE 1675 B SUNRISE HIGHWAY BAY SHORE NY 11706
3778 BRONX 1750 EAST GUNHILL RD BRONX NY 10469
4323 BROOKLYN 1610 FLATBUSH AVE BROOKLYN NY 11210
3685 PATCHOGUE 7001 SUNRISE HIGHWAY HOLBROOK NY 11741
3678 SMITH HAVEN 139 ALEXANDER AVE LAKE GROVE NY 11755
3681 MASSAPEQUA 5500 SUNRISE HIGHWAY MASSAPEQUA NY 11758
1697 EAST 86TH STREET 232 EAST 86TH STREET #240 NEW YORK NY 10028
3683 WEST NYACK 2731 PALISADES CENTER DR WEST NYACK NY 10994
3575 BROOKLYN 7349 NORTHCLIFF AVE BROOKLYN OH 44144
3165 WESTERN HILLS 5455 GLENWAY AVE CINCINNATI OH 45238
1813 COLUMBUS OUTLET 4030 WEST BROAD ST COLUMBUS OH 43228
3818 HILLIARD 1881 HILLIARD ROME RD COLUMBUS OH 43226
1806 AKRON OUTLET 1120 MAIN ST CUYAHOGA FALLS OH 44221
3182 ELYRIA 110 MARKET DR ELYRIA OH 44035
3551 GARFIELD HEIGHTS 5642 TRANSPORTATION BLVD GARFIELD HEIGHTS OH 44125
4324 GROVE CITY 4178 BUCKEYE PARKWAY GROVE CITY OH 43123
3712 MANSFIELD 2190 W 4TH STREET MANSFIELD OH 44906
3784 MAYFIELD HEIGHTS 1405 SOM CENTER RD MAYFIELD HEIGHTS OH 44124
3181 MENTOR 7900 PLAZA BLVD SPACE 100 MENTOR OH 44060
3357 UNIVERSITY TOWN 1620 24TH AVE NW NORMAN OK 73069
4501 PENN SQUARE 3625 NORTHWEST EXPY OKLAHOMA CITY OK 73112
920 HICKORY HOLLOW MALL 5221 HICKORY HOLLOW PKWY ANTIOCH TN 37013
4257 COLLIERVILLE 10217 EAST SHELBY DR COLLIERVILLE TN 38017
853 WINCHESTER 6491 WINCHESTER RD MEMPHIS TN 38115
3823 SPRING HILL 1041 CROSSING BLVD SPRING HILL TN 37174
4338 MCALISTER SQUARE 12640 SOUTH FREEWAY BURLESON TX 76028
4310 CEDAR PARK 1335 E WHITESTONE BLVD G CEDAR PARK TX 78613
3501 CENTRAL NORTH 10400 N CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY DALLAS TX 75231
540 SHARPSTOWN 7553 BELLAIRE BLVD HOUSTON TX 77036
4312 LEAGUE CITY 3270 S GULF FREEWAY LEAGUE CITY TX 77573
3809 MANSFIELD POINTE 1551 N HIGHWAY 287 MANSFIELD TX 76063
4248 MCKINNEY TOWNE 2050 WEST UNIVERSITY DR MCKINNEY TX 75071
3808 SHERMAN 4127 HIGHWAY 75 NORTH SHERMAN TX 75090
1611 TEMPLE 3310 SOUTH 31ST STREET TEMPLE TX 76502
1604 CHARLOTTESVILLE 100 ALBEMARLE SQUARE CHARLOTTESVILLE VA 22901
3172 MANASSAS 10640 DAVIDSON PLACE MANASSAS VA 20109
803 TYSON'S CORNER 1905 CHAIN BRIDGE RD MCLEAN VA 22102
1882 SEATTLE OUTLET 34920 ENCHANTED PKWY SOU FEDERAL WAY WA 98003
1811 MILWAUKEE OUTLET 8173 WEST BROWN DEER RD MILWAUKEE WI 53223

[Ace Purple]

Bummer for Hickory Hollow -- that is an area on Nashville on the major decline.

[cgarison]

Today was a huge reality check that made me realize that not only is HEX bigger than CC in number of stores, but it is also bigger in gross revenue. That is a huge shock in my book.

[genlock]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Circuit City Stores, the nation's second-biggest electronics retailer, filed for bankruptcy protection Monday but will stay open for business as the holidays approach.

It filed under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, which will allow it to hold off creditors and continue operations while it develops a financial reorganization plan.

ADVERTISEMENT
The Richmond, Va.-based retailer has been struggling as nervous consumers spend less and credit has become tighter. The announcement came a week after it said it would close 20 percent of its stores and lay off thousands of workers.

The company said it decided to file because it was facing pressure from vendors who threatened to withhold products during the busy holiday shopping season.

Circuit City said it had secured $1.1 billion in loans to provide working capital while it is in bankruptcy.

It had $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 billion in liabilities, as of Aug. 31.

Circuit City Stores Inc. announced a week ago it planned to close 155 of its more than 700 U.S. stores by Dec. 31. The stores are spread throughout 28 states, including multiple locations in areas like Phoenix and Atlanta. It is laying off about 17 percent of its domestic work force, which could affect up to 7,300 people.

[cgarison]

Genlock, You da Man!!!!! You got this scoop about 6 minutes after things became official. Congrats!

So, Who is going to buy that flat panel from CC now? I am going to Sam's Club for my new outfit. Only problem, all the 1080p panels less than $1200.00 were sold out in the Philly area by noon yesterday.

Who says this is a recession? More cash flowing through checkouts this year than I have seen in 4 years combined. It feels like more like 2002 all over again than I could have ever thought. (As I post this from my old home away from home in north Jersey.) The more things change the more they stay the same.

[Arp2]

Who says this is a recession? More cash flowing through checkouts this year than I have seen in 4 years combined.

Even in the colder weather, restaurant lines are out the door.

I've noticed very slow-going while driving through all the retail areas.

I've been on the phone with people who wind up in unexpected traffic jams around malls.

I like to shop and browse at one of those places with parking decks/garages and digital signs telling you how many spaces are left; lately, it's been hard to find those with numbers bigger than just double digits.

I caused a major retail chain to clear a category of items when I explained to a store manager that what they were offering was at least two and maybe three generations behind and three times the price of the current models with better design and more features; he took that to his boss, and up the chain it went; top person for that department researched and reluctantly agreed, clearance began at not enough of a discount for me, I held off for my price, and it still sold out chain-wide at more than double the price I was willing to pay and still more than current models! (Keeping models on the shelf for more than three years and winding up taking a $50-85 loss per piece has resulted in that retailer dropping the whole category...cut off nose to spite my own face? Oops!)

I was wanting to get a sense of a new area recently and went to a mall at what should have been a slow time to find some retail clerks to chat with. After more than an hour, the best I'd gotten was, "I moved here eight years ago, and it's nice here. Not as many places to shop as (where she came from), but I really like it here. The (outdoor assets) make it worth it." Other than that, everybody was busy.

I was in a big retailer of purely discretionary items (one of the good, ol' "category killers") during the day on a weekday last week and could barely move through the store without excusing myself about every eight feet.

So, yeah, I don't get it.

By the way, I'll be really disappointed if Circuit City goes away....it's usually the place with the lowest prices on new CDs and DVDs. Maybe that's part of the reason they're going away...

[fearpeddler]

CC's biggest problem (at least with the stores in this area) is customer service, and i'm not talking about actual knowledge of the products being sold in the store cause thats almost non-existent with a majority of the employees, its the simple unwillingness to help someone out.

[Lester]

I saw an expectation of a secondary hit to Best Buy in the markets where CC's sell off of inventory will impact their sales.

[Big Media]

Who says this is a recession? More cash flowing through checkouts this year than I have seen in 4 years combined.

You mean credit.

If you want to stimulate the economy, offer high interest/low monthly payment credit cards to the poor and middle class.

[Arp2]

I saw an expectation of a secondary hit to Best Buy in the markets where CC's sell off of inventory will impact their sales.

Sure....

By the way, have my eyes gone really bad, or do the Best Buy house brand TVs not look too bad?

And doesn't it look like manufacturers are trying to maintain price points by upping the features and quality?

[Lester]

By the way, have my eyes gone really bad, or do the Best Buy house brand TVs not look too bad?

There's only a handful (as in "less than 8") that actually make the screens... so if the accompanying electronics don't suck, they probably are descent.

[jag]

CC's biggest problem (at least with the stores in this area) is customer service, and i'm not talking about actual knowledge of the products being sold in the store cause thats almost non-existent with a majority of the employees, its the simple unwillingness to help someone out.

Sorry that's been your experience, fearpeddler. Mine has been quite the opposite. When I shop at CC I'm always deluged in an annoying, if not exasperating, way with overly-helpful employees. I realize they're doing their jobs, but I sometimes just want to say "Back off! I'll find what I'm looking for!"

[Arp2]

Mine has been quite the opposite. When I shop at CC I'm always deluged in an annoying, if not exasperating, way with overly-helpful employees.

Mine has come full-circle -- a long period of swarming, a year or two of inattentiveness, and now back to the swarm.

The solution -- go in close to closing, walk quickly to the item you want, march it up to the front counter before the folks out in the departments break up their conversations, and get out.