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Best Buy Case

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Submitted By rutter2122
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Circuit City Stores, Inc. was an American retailer in brand-name consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software, and (until 2000) large appliances. The company opened its first store in 1949 and pioneered the electronics superstore format in the 1970s. By the end of 2008, Circuit City was the second largest U.S. electronics retailer, behind Best Buy. There were 567 Circuit City Superstores nationwide, ranging in size from 15,000 to 45,000 square feet.

On November 4, 2008, Circuit City announced that it would close 155 stores and lay off 17% of its workforce by the end of the year as a result of continuing difficulties in remaining profitable. On November 7, 2008, Circuit City laid off between 500 and 800 corporate employees from its Richmond, Virginia headquarters. The approximately 1,000 remaining corporate employees were consolidated into one building in an effort to further reduce costs and improve profitability. On November 10, 2008, Circuit City filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. At that time, Circuit City's stock prices traded well below $1 per share (10 cents to be exact), and were removed from listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Starting January 16, 2009, Circuit City began liquidating its remaining stores, and all were closed by March 8, 2009. The former headquarters of Circuit City Stores, Inc., along with the 58 acres of land was sold in September 2010, for US $5.8 million to DRCC Properties, LLC.

The "Circuit City" brand is now owned by Systemax, which uses the brand to sell electronics as an online retailer, CircuitCity.com. Systemax bought the brand, trademark and e-commerce business at an auction from Circuit City Stores, Inc. in May 2009 for US $14 million.

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