Circuit City goes under.....

whippoorbill

Explorer
Jul 29, 2003
675
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Bridgeton
It's hard to believe that a major player in the technological arena can go down in this day and age. These are scary times. I guess it's survival of the fittest nowadays, and, once this economic storms passes (hopefully), those that weathered it will be better off, and new fields will be there within which to grow.

Trying to stay optimistic. :)
 

Teegate

Administrator
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Sep 17, 2002
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We all were just there. Not really busy and the sales are small. I looked at TV's, the Garmin Nuvi, and anything else I could think of, and everyone but me purchased something. I hate spending money.

They were building one in Marlton by the circle and it has never opened. I guess some construction company stopped getting paid.

Guy
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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Were there any good deals? I'm looking for a 32" tv.

The major appliances were only 10 percent off at the most. You may be able to find the price the same with a place that will be in business in the future. There are no returns after today.

Guy
 

Sue Gremlin

Piney
Sep 13, 2005
1,283
240
61
Vicksburg, Michigan
I would not count on any deals. They hire liquidators who usually jack up the prices and advertise liquidation sales. (ever see those poor saps wearing sandwich boards out on the highway?)
The ads get more butts in the store so they sell lots of inventory by osmosis, even at higher prices. It's apparently a formula that works. CompUSA did the same thing. Those furniture liquidators do that, too.
 

ecampbell

Piney
Jan 2, 2003
2,869
1,011
Amazing, the economy the way it is and bankruptcies and nobody wants to deal. I'd buy an SUV too but the most GM will do is add $300 to my earnings. I think I'll just keep my money.
 

Boyd

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Jul 31, 2004
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I stopped by Circuit City during the holidays and was a little surprised to see that all the items I looked at cost more than the same thing at Best Buy, sometimes a lot more.

This is too bad, but certainly not a surprise, many people on Wall Street have been predicting it for over a year. And really they have been struggling for a number of years now. The analysis I've been reading indicates that WalMart (the darling of the Politics forum :) ) will benefit the most from Circuit City's demise.

The consumer electronics sector is really brutal and it's hard for anyone to make a buck there anymore. It is going to have a ripple effect too. Look for some malls to go bankrupt... Linens and Things went away recently, Boscov's is in bankruptcy. It is gonna be almost impossible to fill those empty stores. The street thinks this is only the beginning of a wave of bankruptcies.

Interestingly, one of the people Circuit City was courting for a bailout was the Mexican billionaire who owned CompUSA. Looks like he learned something along the way...
 

NJBill

Explorer
Sep 10, 2008
120
2
Hamilton (Mercer County)
I stopped by Circuit City during the holidays and was a little surprised to see that all the items I looked at cost more than the same thing at Best Buy, sometimes a lot more.

This is too bad, but certainly not a surprise, many people on Wall Street have been predicting it for over a year. And really they have been struggling for a number of years now. The analysis I've been reading indicates that WalMart (the darling of the Politics forum :) ) will benefit the most from Circuit City's demise.

The consumer electronics sector is really brutal and it's hard for anyone to make a buck there anymore. It is going to have a ripple effect too. Look for some malls to go bankrupt... Linens and Things went away recently, Boscov's is in bankruptcy. It is gonna be almost impossible to fill those empty stores. The street thinks this is only the beginning of a wave of bankruptcies.

Interestingly, one of the people Circuit City was courting for a bailout was the Mexican billionaire who owned CompUSA. Looks like he learned something along the way...

Agreed this is just the beginning of a massive retail failure. In a year from now the landscape will have changed with many empty stores. I'm noticing more and more of the smaller franchise operations not making it as well. Suspect the over abundance of eateries will follow. Gonna be a rough ride for many of us the next couple of years.

I'm thinking too that the brick and mortar retail is taking a double hit both from the economy and internet shopping. I can't imagine what the monthly overhead must be for some of these stores.
 

Sue Gremlin

Piney
Sep 13, 2005
1,283
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Vicksburg, Michigan
Scary when you think about the big picture. Retail is the first line, then other "luxury" business start to fall. My business is veterinary medicine, and I suspect that is more of a luxury than many others. I am trying to steel myself. These are scary times.
 

lgench

Explorer
Jan 19, 2005
125
0
Bristol, PA
Their demise started years ago when they dropped white goods and their service department. In my area, you would go in, for years, and the salesmen would be off in the corner talking. Very difficult to get any assistance. Then when Best Buy moved in across the road, it became a ghost town. As said, I'm surprised they lasted this long. No loss, except to the investors. At least CompUSA did try taking on different lines in an attempt to survive, but to no avail. I must say, CompUSA, generally had helpful employees. When the one at Franklin Mills closed, many of the original employees were still there, so it must have been a decent place to work.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
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Coastal NJ
Scary when you think about the big picture. Retail is the first line, then other "luxury" business start to fall. My business is veterinary medicine, and I suspect that is more of a luxury than many others. I am trying to steel myself. These are scary times.

The medical services business has already started to unfold with the local mergers of hospitals and serveral local closings of labs and imaging services. Most of the large ones are having problems. I heard a report that some analysts expect a failure of 50% of small business this year. I think we have just started into the woods and won't be out of them for quite some time.

Circuity City file Chapter 11 a few months ago, first was CompUSA, Best Buy is probably next.
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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Circuity City file Chapter 11 a few months ago, first was CompUSA, Best Buy is probably next.

If how many people are in the store and how much they buy is an indicator, I can't see Best Buy having problems yet. it is always packed in Deptford where i go.

Guy
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,144
Coastal NJ
If how many people are in the store and how much they buy is an indicator, I can't see Best Buy having problems yet. it is always packed in Deptford where i go.

Guy

Well, if their earnings are any indicator, and they usually are, they are not doing very well. Down over 77% from last year. And their growth estimate is -16% for this year. It's not how many people are buying or how much, it's the profit they make from the purchase.
 

Aaron

Explorer
Jul 29, 2007
171
0
two words

market saturation :(

Amen to that, its impossible for all of these stores to stay profitable when the economy is in the shape it is in, Naturally the companies that are less profitable (and usually less profitable for a reason) are the first to go belly up. Hopefully we recover sooner than later.
 
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