The Obituary
Circuit City rose from a single Richmond store into the second-largest consumer electronics chain in the United States, a superstore pioneer that helped popularize the big-box format. In 2007, facing pressure from Best Buy and online sellers, it laid off 3,400 of its highest-paid and most knowledgeable sales associates to cut costs, replacing them with cheaper staff. Service quality collapsed and customers drifted away. Already weakened, the company filed for bankruptcy in November 2008, failed to find a buyer, and liquidated all 567 stores by March 2009, eliminating roughly 34,000 jobs.
Worth remembering
- In 2007 it laid off 3,400 of its best-paid, most experienced sales staff to save money, gutting its showroom service.
- It was once the second-largest US electronics retailer behind Best Buy, with 567 stores at its end.
Sources
- Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and liquidated its 567 stores in 2009 Wikipedia
- Circuit City laid off 3,400 of its highest-paid sales associates in 2007 The New York Times
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.