Circuit City Announces 155 Stores Closing Nationwide

Circuit City issued a press release this morning which included the announcement that 155 Circuit City Stores are expected to close and they are also reducing the number of Circuit City stores they intended to open in the forthcoming year. A list of the Circuit City stores which will be closing can be found in PDF format on their investor website at the following URL: http://investor.circuitcity.com/announcement.cfm

The list of Circuit City stores closing include the states of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. That is 27 states in which Circuit City will be closing stores, and according to their press release, it will withdraw them from 12 media markets.

The company anticipates the chosen stores will be closed on November 4 to prepare for closing sales which will start on November 5. It says that all announced closing stores are expected to permanently close their doors by the end of 2008.

Circuit City says it will continue to honor their customer commitments (such as warranties) from their closed stores via the website (www.circuitcity.com) or at 566 other locations throughout the US.

The store closings are a result of the recent downturn in the economic and retail markets and is an effort for Circuit City to decrease their expenses in the areas of payroll, marketing, and operating expenses. They expect the decline in retail sales overall to continue through the holiday season.

The press release also claims that the store closings are in part a result of the company being unable to obtain over eighty million dollars it believes it is owed in tax refunds.

The store closings will affect approximately 17% of Circuit City's total workforce. There is no mention of efforts to assist displaced personnel with finding other employment, although Circuit City does issue a thank you and apology to the affected employees.

Circuit City began as Ward's Company in 1949. Over the following 28 years, it acquired several other stores and opened new stores in several markets, including one with the name "Dixie Hi-Fi". It wasn't until 1977 that the company branded the name Circuit City and opened it's first stores in the Washington, DC market, although it did not formally change the parent company name to "Circuit City Superstores" until 1982. The name later changed to simply "Circuit City Stores, Inc.".

Sources:

Circuit City Stores, Inc., Circuit City Stores, Inc. Provides Update on Liquidity and Announces Store Closing Plan, Circuit City Website

Circuit City Stores, Inc., Circuit City Stores, Inc. Company Timeline, Circuit City Website

Circuit City Stores, Inc., List of Closing Stores, Circuit City Website