Re-animator: Circuit City rises from the dead as a dot.com
Filed under: Shopping, Technology
It's been a rough week for Best Buy. The Minneapolis-based chain has barely gotten rival Circuit City out of its hair - thanks to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and subsequent liquidation -- when word comes that Wal-Mart is angling for a piece of the electronic giant's flat-screen pie. Now, Best Buy also has to worry that its chief rival could be back, albeit as a web-only enterprise, the preferred form of zombie retail brands everywhere.A new Circuit City website has popped up and is making the rounds of tech blogs. There's a healthy amount of skepticism as to whether or not new owner Systemax will actually pull off this resurrection. The site itself is sparse on details, promising shipping starting at $1.99 and a grand reveal "in a few days" (their words, not ours.)
For what it's worth, Systemax is experienced at this sort of thing; the company picked up the CompUSA brand name, online operations and a handful of stores at the Chapter 11 yard sale CompUSA's "restructuring specialist" held back in early 2008.
Going from brick-and-mortar to web-only has been a popular tactic for troubled brands lately. Sharper Image and Linens n' Things are two recent examples of companies that sold off their inventory and shuttered their stores, only to have their name and licenses bought out by opportunistic e-commerce visionaries.
Gone are the days, though, when a sock puppet could sell pet supplies and the mere act of converting a business into an online version of itself made everybody sit up and take notice. Department store brand Montgomery Ward, which was the subject of the largest and most complex retail bankruptcy in U.S. history, briefly reemerged as a 'net-only entity in 2004, until its new parent was sold off last year. (The Montgomery Ward name wound up in the hands of gift-basket cataloger Swiss Colony, which is trying to reboot the brand yet again.)
Consumer electronics is a tough field, and despite the departures of CompUSA and Circuit City, new entrants like Wal-Mart make it a very crowded marketplace.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-21-2009 @ 10:34PM
MRM said...
Circuit city sucked when it was brick and mortar. Why the hell would anyone want to purchase from them online?
Reply
5-23-2009 @ 11:54PM
Tony said...
MRM you're a complete idiot. First off the parent company has nothing to do with the relaunch of circuitcity.com. They sold of the branding rights to systemax (aka tigerdirect) for 14 million dollars. This is a smart move because circuit city has been here for 60 years and has a great brand recognition regardless of it's reputation. The original web enterprise by circuit city was actually one of the best but you're right about their brick and motar stores. This move allows tigerdirect to steal back circuit city customers who were forced to go to other competitors. Essentially it's going to be a tigerdirect site with a circuit city branding and layout. Look what systemax did for compusa. Anyways it's a smart move and will increase systemax marketshare on the online realm.
5-22-2009 @ 7:09PM
RAH RAH said...
I worked for Circuit City as a Store Manager. They were terrible to their employees... even worse to their customers. Their business philosophy was, well, er, flawed to saw the least.
Let the buyer beware. If you were dumb enough to buy from them when they were a train-wreck business, go ahead and buy from the train-wreck website.
I wish you the worst. I hope you crash and burn and that they make a documentary about how stupid it is to bring back to life something that at least died a merciful death. Gee, how about Woolworth's online? Linens N Things online?
Let the market mandate who and why things don't work and let them die.
Circuit City was an evil that the American market said there was no room for.
Tell you friends! Stay away! Be afraid! Bad! Bad! Bad!
Reply
5-26-2009 @ 8:18AM
Frank said...
RAH RAH>>> I too was a former manager with CC and to me it sounds as though you are just a disgruntled ex employee. I spend 3 years with CC and was in 4 different stores and was always treat great by the company. Was not an ass kisser but came in and did my job. I will shop at the new CC online because like I previously stated CC was always good to me. Yes we did lack at customer service under Schoonover but the company was headed in the right direction under Marcum. Just was too far gone by that point. I am now at Store Manager for another retailer (not electronics) and have brought some of the new concepts that Mr. Marcum was trying to do into my new employer and they love the way that the changes have affected our business. We strive on giving every guest who enters our store that great shopping experience and my associates have a say as to what goes on in the store. So quit being pissed off and take the experience that you learned from CC and develop your skills to make your next job a rewarding one.
Reply
5-26-2009 @ 10:27AM
Muttman said...
I just got their Email last night and first thought it was some kind of phishing scam. I suppose it could work to compete with Amazon and Buy.com or maybe not. I bought a couple things off CC online and haven't had any problems with them--yet.
Reply