Last week we told you of rumors that electronics retailer Circuit City might be closing 155 stores in the coming weeks.
The poor state of the store chain was confirmed when I drove past our local location last week. Its windows were plastered with “everything on sale” signs. The parking lot was packed with vehicles, which is not a typical sight for this location. Inside, the store had been picked over, with very little in the way of quality stock left. Many items were marked down, some as high as 20 percent. Televisions, audio equipment, and computers were flying off shelves.
In the midst of this excitement, I decided to check out the gaming section. Unfortunately, I saw that games were discounted a mere 5 percent, and accessories only 10 percent. What’s worse is that some of the normal priced games at Best Buy were cheaper than these “discounted” ones at Circuit City were. No wonder they’re going out of business!
Today Bloomberg tells us that Circuit City has filed for bankruptcy. Vendors servicing Circuit City were concerned that the retailer could not pay for the merchandise they sell. The company is entering court protection as it owes HP $119 million and Samsung $116 million. In all, they owe $650 million to suppliers, including Sony. Ouch.
Bloomberg points to stiff competition from Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Amazon.com, as well as the on-going global financial crisis, as reasons why the company is nearing its end.
