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Circuit City files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

iJohnHenry said:
Our Radio Shacks "converted" to The Source @ Circuit City.

Wonder what's up with them, if anything? (But I think they are totally independent now.)
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Yeah, I'm wondering about The Source too. InterTAN is based in Barrie apparently but Circuit City still controls the company. Because they're relatively close by I still drop in there for the odd item, including a 2G Nano two autumns ago.
 
Here is the article from msn.com

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/topstocks/?fpn=circuit city closing 20 of stores

I kind of figured this was going to happen sooner then later. With as much trouble they have been in and with the blockbuster talks.

The stores next to me were ok. Service at both CC and BB suck. The only time I really go into anyone of them is for the Tuesday offerings on dvd's and cd's.
 
This is a bummer. I'm a Fry's guy, so I don't generally shop at CC (or BB for that matter), but I never like to see people lose jobs.
 
MacNut said:
I went into Radio Shack the other day and all the goodies they used to sell are gone. They have a small corner of electronic parts and the rest is cell phones TV's and stuff you can get at Best Buy. I don't think the employees could even answer a technology question.
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My local RadioShack is such a joke. I went in to buy a DVD player one day, and the only two they had was a Philco and a Magnavox...WTF?! And I think the biggest TV they have is like 32"? That's pretty sad when Walmart has better electronics than a dedicated electronics store. RadioShack is a great place to get cables and the like though.
 
Anyone still remember the DIVX fiasco?

I don't live in the US and thus only ever stepped foot in a Circuit City once or twice, but I was involved in many a debate over DIVX versus "basic DVD" on Usenet, and that soured my taste completely for the store ever since.
 
Southerner said:
Best Buy - what is it like? Is it good or bad? They're coming over here in England to open 4 new stores in Greater London next year.
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BB is just a typical big box store for consumer electronics. They're fine if you're buying something that doesn't have much variation in price - such as a Nintendo Wii, a specific model of digital camera, or whatever. Take a look at their website and you can kind of get a feel for their pricing.

But if you're the nerdy type that buys computer components, electronics components, or any kind of cabling, you'd be better off elsewhere. I don't know what that'd be in England, but around here we have Fry's Electronics for that purpose.

I also don't like getting hassled while I shop, and it seems like I get asked if I need help every two minutes at a BB. They should have little stickers at the entrance of the store that say "Leave me the hell alone" on them. Then I can just place one on my shirt and the sales staff would know not to talk to me. ;)
 
dmr727 said:
But if you're the nerdy type that buys computer components, electronics components, or any kind of cabling, you'd be better off elsewhere. I don't know what that'd be in England, but around here we have Fry's Electronics for that purpose.
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OMG -- I haven't been in a Fry's for years. First time I walked into one, I felt like I had achieved Geek Nirvana. Wish I had one near...

dmr727 said:
I also don't like getting hassled while I shop, and it seems like I get asked if I need help every two minutes at a BB. They should have little stickers at the entrance of the store that say "Leave me the hell alone" on them. Then I can just place one on my shirt and the sales staff would know not to talk to me. ;)
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AMEN! Although, if you scowl mightily at them, it usually scares them off at about 5 yard range... Lad who works for me now once applied for a job at a BB. He was told his pay would be based on his sales -- if he generated enough sales, he would be paid his hours. Otherwise, his hours worked didn't "count" -- and he wouldn't be paid for them. Explains the in-your-face-to-the-tonsils attitude.
 
Actually the places to go for the geeky stuff are your local mom-and-pop shops, no? Here in Ottawa I can think of a dozen small shops that offer excellent pricing on both OEM and retail-boxed goods, far better than the likes of Best Buy.
 
I looked at the list of stores they're closing down, and the one in Moreno Valley, CA just opened in a new shopping center a little over a month ago and now it's on the chopping block. :eek:
 
chris200x9 said:
apple should buy circus city!
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The news looks like the CompUSA slide, store closings followed by worse news to follow. Especially if they have already hired a liquidation company.

The No. 2 consumer electronics chain will lay off about 17% of its work force. It's hired a bankruptcy advisor and a liquidator, according to the Wall Street Journal, and is desperately trying to shore up some cash.
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Of course they have been trying to save the company for over a decade with since CarMax, and their sort of sucky timing for operations.
 
I used to prefer shopping at Circuit City over the other chains. They were more organized than Fry's with easy to spot salespeople who could help me out if I needed them. It had nice weekly specials on popular categories, so if I could wait around a few weeks, I could get a good price on external hard disks, home theater receivers, TVs, SD cards or digital cameras for about the same as online-only stores. They also did not charge restocking fees and returning items was very easy, compared to Fry's or mailing items back to online stores. Once they instituted the restocking fees, the biggest advantage of shopping at Circuit City evaporated. Funny, Best Buy stopped charging restocking fees around the same time.
 
dmr727 said:
I also don't like getting hassled while I shop, and it seems like I get asked if I need help every two minutes at a BB. They should have little stickers at the entrance of the store that say "Leave me the hell alone" on them. Then I can just place one on my shirt and the sales staff would know not to talk to me. ;)
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LOL that is so true. I hate going in their. Their is always some teenager coming up to you. Asiking if you need help. You politley tell them no thank you. Two minutes later your asked again. And then again and again.

I have not met one bb employe that new what they were talking about.
Forget asking any question. That requires a answer more advanced than what you would find on a products packaging.

When you do buy anything, be prepared to put up a fight. For they will harass you and try to force you to buy a product protection plan.
 
Yeah. I was just at Circuit City yesterday. My home town's is closing. I liked Best Buy better anyway which is right down the road from there. Only up to 20% off, mostly 10% though. Everything's open box so it still sucks.
 
Its growing worse.

We just axed 500-800 people from our corporate offices.

We've been ordered to ship Panasonic plasmas back to Panasonic, at least in the closing stores. Dont know if this has been pushed all over.

Haven't really seen any PS3s come in at all within the past month. May be due to our distribution center still closed, due to its giant sinkhole and such. Dont know.
 
ReanimationLP said:
Its growing worse.

We just axed 500-800 people from our corporate offices.

We've been ordered to ship Panasonic plasmas back to Panasonic, at least in the closing stores. Dont know if this has been pushed all over.

Haven't really seen any PS3s come in at all within the past month. May be due to our distribution center still closed, due to its giant sinkhole and such. Dont know.
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Damn man. I'm sorry to hear this. :(
 
matt1219 said:
Yeah. I was just at Circuit City yesterday. My home town's is closing. I liked Best Buy better anyway which is right down the road from there. Only up to 20% off, mostly 10% though. Everything's open box so it still sucks.
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Thats because most of the stuff was rerouted back to distribution centers, etc.

Not to mention some manufacturers demanded their products be pulled back/returned.
 
thechidz said:
US unemployment rates have just leaped to 6.5%
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"Leaped"?

Considering the natural unemployment rate should be around 4-6% (below that and it's considered underemployment), it's really not all that bad from a macro point of view. During 1975, the US hit 9%. 1980, 7.7%. 1982, 10.8%. 1992, 7.8%. The current number will likely rise some more, but still not anything near a crisis. Remember that during the Depression unemployment was double-digit for ten years, peaking at 24.75% in 1933.

As far as CC, it doesn't take an economic genius to see that the entire business model was not sustainable in low-growth or recessionary markets. Pretty much like any other business that just applies a "me-too" approach to any industry. DHL just discovered that, and others will, too. It's really the healthiest thing over the long haul.
 
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