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Circuit City

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By: Da’Terryon Sturghill |

What was Circuit City?
Circuit City Stores, Inc. was an American vendor in brand-name buyer electronics, individual computers, entertainment software, and until early in 2000 came accompanied with large appliances. I mean Circuit City was an overconfident brand that America had grown to depend on through the years to offer many products which facilitate people to take pleasure in their lives. I have researched and found that the history of Circuit City is amazingly dating back to 1949. CircuitCity.com had been developed all-new and geared up to provide the customers with a wider range of products than previously offered in Circuit City stores or online in order to remain current with the continuously growth in technology as well as competition. Here is what I found of the projected items sold at the Circuit City establishment an extended variety of customer electronics, desktops, notebooks, net books, HDTVs, DVD and Blu-Ray players, DVRs, Home Theater Systems, GPS Players, Digital Cameras, Hi-Def Camcorders, Digital Picture Frames and so much more. Plus, provided a greatly expanded selection of computer mechanism, like computer cases, motherboards, memory and processors – all the things to promote your existing system, or build your own.

Who were Circuit City competitors?
Circuit City’s key competitor was Best Buy simply because they had a broader selection for every type of customers need as well as want. But increasing competition, mainly with the related electronics superstore chain Best Buy, caused the company to clash harder for market share and to look for innovative ways to make capital. The Circuit City firm differed from Best Buy in offering an elevated-service, hard-sell sales atmosphere, with salespeople functioning for commission. Best Buy was more of a help-yourself retailer. Circuit City went from being the major electronics retailer to being ruined in a small period of time. After Circuit City went bankrupt analysts expected Best Buy to reap huge benefits—their number one competitor, who often had stores very close to Best Buy’s, was no longer going to take business from them. Common sense would say Best Buy would benefit. Best Buy, however, did not see a significant increase in business. In fact, they have been struggling to grow same-store sales and profits. They are also facing a fast-growing competitor in HH Gregg.

What was Circuit City mission or business vision?
Circuit City Mission / Vision Statement:
On its corporate website before the company went bankrupt and liquidated all of its brick-and-mortar stores, Circuit City outlined the mission statement that purportedly guided the company's decisions and actions.

"To make sure that we are all working in the same direction, each of us must live and breathe Circuit City's values and use them as a guidepost for our actions and decisions."

To further clarify that mission to all of its employees, the company outlined its corporate values in detail...
"Respect Our Associates are our greatest assets. We expect every Associate to demonstrate that they respect and value others for their efforts, their knowledge, and the diversity that they bring.

Teach
We are a product of our experiences and those around us can benefit from our lessons learned. Pass on to others what you value and learn.

Engage
What's in it for you? We foster an environment of engagement where associates are invested and involved in the future of the company. What you do matters.

Simplify
Use your fresh perspective to look, ask, and learn. We never stop looking at the way we approach our business and ways to simplify processes.

Maintain the highest integrity
We expect all of our associates to maintain the highest of ethical standards. Our integrity must never be compromised. Integrity is the foundation onto which all other values are placed."
(Circuit City Mission Statement , 2009)
When did Circuit City start and then fail?
In 1949, when Samuel Wurtzel opened Ward's--Richmond, Virginia's original retail television store, his objective was to supply the neighborhood with an innovative technology that would revolutionize the face of consumer electronics forever. More than 60 years, over 700 stores and quite a few name changes later, the technology had continued to alter, but Circuit City's obligation to their customers were strong. The technologies and solutions they gave could compose your life easier and more enjoyable. And it was their purpose to make certain just that. So, over time whether the consumer was browsing through one of their stores or surfing the website, they were with you. Circuit City felt the joys of being successful in the 1980’s and 1990’s and grew to become 100 % contented. At the same time as other retailers ended up being getting prime true estate for their shoppers Circuit City was not.
The final day of physical existence for Circuit City's brick and mortar retailers was March 8, 2009. Besides retail car dealerships, Circuit City closed a lot more retail locations in the U.S. than any other retail chain in 2009.
Failure of Circuit City
Circuit City became complacent with a critical blunder in the intensely competitive and fast-surfacing retail-electronics industry. The troubles began a decade ago, when Circuit City botched to lock prime real estate to its out-of-the-way locations which left them often just awkward enough to persuade customers to head to other retailers, like Wal-Mart. Then Circuit City stopped selling appliances and then they didn't move about as insistently into gaming as it should have. Plus, it missed out on big in-store promotions with booming companies like Apple Computer I mean while Apple succeeded by focusing superficially on the customer, Circuit City failed by focusing within on infrastructure. Apple was thinking out-of-the box, while Circuit city was thinking inside-the-box. That created an opening for Best Buy, now the top electronics chain in the U.S., to surge ahead. Finally, the cherry on top: Circuit City neglected to improve its Web presence, just as online retailers like Amazon.com were hitting their stride.
Another key problem for the retailer, which is based in Richmond, Va., and was founded by Samuel S. Wurtzel as a television store in 1949, was basic inventory management. They had been unable to move their inventory this accumulation left Circuit City paralyzed, unable to buy new product or pay off its existing debts. For many consumers, however, Circuit City's most apparent failing was its customer service. Circuit City laid off its highest paid hourly employees, including salespeople, and substituted them with cheaper workers. Another thing I noticed it may come as no surprise, then, that a quick Web search on "Circuit City complaints" brings up hundreds of thousands of entries. Customers, aggravated by pitiable technical support deserted Circuit City in favor of Best Buy. Additional, Best Buy, one of two survivors that include Wal-Mart, was considerably more skilled in merchandising; their stores were alive compared to the discount-store dated look at Circuit City.
(Hamilton, 2008)
Without a doubt, Circuit City needed more than a alter in higher management. They required an essential renovation from peak to base, modify that would have shifted its focal point to the outside upbringing and a change that would have required a merciless evaluation of existing practices.
The most important issue causative to the bankruptcy and insolvency of the previous consumer electronics company was amplified competition. Best Buy continued to consume market share up; Wal-Mart kept reducing their prices on like things, and Home Depot entered the home appliance market. The slump in the board market also left people with smaller amount of cash for big ticket items which the company sold.
Reasons for Business Failure
Starting an innovative business like Circuit City can’t possibly be effortless to maintain. On the other hand, how extensive you are able to uphold your company is what differentiates the common businesses from the astonishing ones.
The points that follow draw attention to the most general failures in many businesses.

* Start your business for the wrong reasons. I think in this case of Circuit City this business was start for one reason and that was to provide the customers with valued brand-name consumer electronics alongside with exceptional customer service but failed somehow down the way. * Poor Management. Circuit City has faced a disaster with these concept mainly in the areas of areas such as finance which they were in debt that couldn’t be escaped, purchasing lead a major problem in the newer inventory, selling was okay apparently couldn’t keep up with the growing advancements, production had them moving at a manageable pace for revenue, and hiring and managing employees curved with the unnecessary lay offs of the qualified individuals. * Insufficient Capital. Circuit City had insufficient operating funds to buy new innovative products to even compete with theirs in that market of retail which caused a major drop in the capital. * Location, Location, Location. In terms of Circuit City it seems to me they had location down packed by placing their organizations where the customers are with the needs they provides in technology. * Lack of Planning. Circuit City had many problems with this because the bankruptcy shows that they didn’t take into consideration of potential problems and solutions. They could have also done an analysis of competition to keep up with the growing trends and most importantly budgeting and managing company growth. * Overexpansion. Circuit City should have had a focus on slow and steady growth which is best simply because many a bankruptcy has been caused by rapidly expanding companies. I have observed that many confuse success with how fast they can expand their business. * No Website. Simply put, if you have a business today, you need a website. Period. Circuit City I found them to be kind of slow in this stage of advertisement and promotion.

Analysis of Circuit City:
This paper about the failure of Circuit City concluded that retail businesses present a vast deal to the economy, the general public as well as technology and therefore progression planning is essential to their continued existence. In my opinion, Circuit City faced a many of problems but one just stood out to me is the key alteration which I think was the start of the closing stages was to discontinue carrying foremost appliances needed for the essentials of living. There was no major gain and there was nothing to make large earnings off of but it was a sound stable income. Citizens are always going to need stoves and refrigerators to fulfill their food produce. They ended up using the floor space to sell small electronics and software which lead to a slump in the capital projected. I also noticed that Circuit City appear to be somewhat frightened by the ongoing change in innovative technology with the beginning of the gaming period lead other retailer businesses took heed to which resulted their businesses to bloom. By keeping up with the trend in the societies needs as well as wants keep you ahead of competition but in Circuit City case their apprehension along with debt which I will get into later pushed them up under the market which gave companies like Wal-Mart and Best Buy that competitive edge they needed to rise above in retailing of advancing technology. I personally think these could have been resolved and overlooked with the positive incentives because while Circuit City fell through a depression with the big appliances in addition to gaming technology they should have embrace the movement fully to enjoy their fruits of labor as they saying goes on. If Circuit City would have gone along with the active trend it would’ve increase their capital which means better inventory to supply the consumers. Another problem that has occurred on behalf of Circuit City was a decision to lay off a dramatic number of employees in order to appoint lower-paid replacements was raising questions about the force of relentless cost-cutting on employee morale. As I mentioned, laying off employees who receive higher pay raises the risk of deflating the morale of employees who are left behind.
The layoffs could have broad impact:
Copycats.
* Other employers could follow Circuit City's lead. Many already are trying to curtail compensation costs.
Employee morale. * After layoffs, companies must deal with a demoralized workforce by reassuring them that the decision is in the best interest of the company and those left behind.
Waning productivity. * Employees left behind or rehired later at lower wages could struggle with productivity, which is common in the wake of corporate cost-cutting.
(Armour, 2007)
I thought this was an bad choice from start because this show that Circuit City was being so inconsiderate of what the company could possibly gain by keeping these employees to critique and perhaps shine a new light upon its retail operations instead of laying off of their top employees to keep costs, as an alternative of looking at your finest employees as an investment in the company’s future. I would have thought this whole process threw because of many factors as far as personal to corporate. I’m a strong believer in treating others especially in business with their well earned respect but if you strip their opportunity away from them to become an asset to the Circuit City brand. I think that they should have wait it out in this situation before trying to beat the curve of capital by cutting their highly paid employees for those with little experience for lower the cost. This essay that was provided helped me understand the dos and don’ts in a business for the good of capital as well as recognition and success. Even though Circuit City failed it reached an astonishing stage in retailing, it made an impact not solely on me, but on the world. That is something that cannot be taken away.

Work Cited: * Ruthie Ackerman , http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/23/circuitcity-electronics-retailer-markets-equity-cx_ra_1123markets15.html , Circuit City Gives Competitors a Boost, 2007 * Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY, Circuit City's plan to fire 3,400 will have ripple effects, 2007 * Anita Hamilton, http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1858079,00.html , Why Circuit City Busted, While Best Buy Boomed, 2008 * http://retailindustry.about.com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/Company-Mission-Statements/Circuit-City-Mission-Statement.htm, Circuit City Mission Statement, 2009 * http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Circuit-City-Stores-Inc-Company-History.html , Circuit City Stores, Inc. , 2004

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...Recognition approach had low faithful representation. Since the revenue associated with the service of the contract has not yet been completed, which means the revenue had not been earned; therefore, it was less precise to recognize it at the sale. It will understate the liability and overstates sales revenue because this method realizesfull revenue at the point of sale and adjusts later if “actual costs under the service contract fell short” (Bruns 2). Full Revenue Recognition approach will increase the stock price because overstate of sales revenue. * Deferral of revenue method records the product sales and extended warranty separately, it will have a higher relevance because some of the customer did not purchase warranty. According to Circuit City Stores, Inc. (A), “between 40% and 70% customers would purchase both the item for sale and the...

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Circuit City Business Failure

...There are many factors involved when there is a successful business, however, when a business takes a downturn that results in failure there are specific factors that can attribute to the outcome of the company’s demise. The closing of the electronic big box store, Circuit City is an example of a failed business. They were leaders in business for 60 years. Due to certain actions of management, this electronic retail giant, who was once the nation’s second largest electronics retailer was forced into bankruptcy on November 10, 2008 . 1 Circuit City’s success was built on a culture of discipline that practiced and followed the “4-S” model (service, selection, savings, satisfaction). “It was because of this consistency that Circuit City took off in the early 1980’s and beat the general stock market by more than 18 times during the next 15 years” (Collins, 2001). The slowly declining economy, housing market, limited available credit, unemployment rates, and increased competition compounded and accelerated the repercussions of the pre-existing problems that Circuit City faced started years before. Internally, Circuit City was already suffering from several years of declining sales. The Circuit City organization “made fatal mistakes which resulted in one of the most significant business failures in retail history. These mistakes undermined their own progress and ultimately killed them” (Eames, 2009 ). Today, many business leaders use this once thriving organization...

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Circuit City Case

...Erik Peterson case Analysis Introduction: Erik Peterson, The general manager of GMCT Telephone Company is facing considerable amount of issues relating to launch of pre operating system. Peterson has to report, Chip Knight the director of pre operating system in two weeks. Peterson is looking forward to talk with knight about his plan for dealing with problems which he is facing. About Erik Peterson: Erik Peterson was native of Minnesota. He was 31 year old, he attended business school. He did BS in electrical engineering from MIT and master’s degree from Dartmouth’s Thayer School of engineering. He had worked as designer engineer at avionics equipment. Moreover he had been an Officer in the US Army Signal Corps. He interviewed companies in industry as part of his second year job search, and interviewed by Ric Jenkins, its president and founder. He had no previous worked experience in cellular industry. Cellucomm Organization was a challenge for Peterson he felt very fortunate to have opportunity to work directly under Jenkins. Background: Erik Peterson was hired as general manager at Green mountain Cellular, (GMCT) one of Cellucomm ‘s subsidiaries. It is a “pre operating “system and still in construction phase. GMCT will serve 400,000 people and operate 21 cell sites, 16 sites were anticipated to be ready by turn on date and five other in eight month following GMCT is one month behind the target because of numerous problem, the revised turn on date is April 1st and...

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Case Study 1

...replacement of highly paid workers with lower-paid workers did or did not cause Circuit City to perform so poorly. How confident are you in your evaluation? Why? After reviewing the article, one can be confident that the replacement of highly paid workers was what made Circuit City perform poorly, which led to Circuit City closing. One can be confident that high paid skilled workers is what hurt Circuit City due to Best Buy being able to outperform Circuit City with less quality people and lower wages. Highly paid workers hurt Circuit City due to Circuit City not being able to compete with Best Buy; then replacing the high paid skilled workers with lower paid unskilled workers is what put Circuit City over the edge. The only way that Circuit City could compete with Best Buy is through customer service and when it replaces the high paid workers, it lost the customer service too. 2) Do you believe that the compensation changes at Best Buy are a major reason for its current difficulties? Since Best Buy is making cuts in departments that will not affect customer service, one can determine that the compensation changes are not a major reason for Best Buy’s current difficulties. The major reasons for Best Buy’s difficulties are increased competition from discount stores like Amazon, Wal-Mart and Target. 3) Why are Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco doing better than Best Buy (Circuit City)? Do they have high pay? Walmart, Sam's club and Costco are performing better than...

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Business

...companies facing business failures such as stores that were likely known to many shoppers. Circuit City is one of the stores that saw its demise for many reasons within the bad economy at the time of their existence, and decreased consumers spending and companies poor management. Lack of customer’s support, recognition and bad management lead to the companies threat of opportunities to strategize when the economy changed after Circuit City failed in innovating strategies of improving their competitive advantage. Best buy gained a competitive advantage over Circuit City non-existence by external factors of customer taking advantage of Circuit City no longer being in existence. The decisions of leaders can determine Organizational change played a huge role between vital areas of change and potential areas of both companies as in the strengths and weaknesses of the two. There were plenty of opportunities of growth for Circuit City. Lack of Internet presence was a major factor when it came to Circuit City demise, during a time where Internet use and shopping were gaining more popularity. If the company had taken advantage of the growth of the Internet that had developed over time then maybe the outcome would have been drastically different (Yukl, 2013). Best Buy on the other hand took advantage of the online shopping experience, as well as many other critical areas in which Circuit City failed to deliver. In this p Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations (8th ed.). Retrieved...

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