Circuit City is Back, Sorta
The Circuit City site is now back online and selling electronics. Unfortunately, it’s not the same Circuit City we once knew.
The relaunch of the Circuit City has raised the hopes of those who used to frequent the store back before it closed shop. Is it possible we’ll see brick and mortar Circuit Cities again sometime? In short, don’t bet on it.
On May 19 the Circuit City brand and website was purchased by Systemax Inc., the company responsible for etailers like Tiger Direct, CompUSA, and Misco. For a cool $14 million, Systemax acquired certain trademarks, trade names, domains, customer lists and information, and “other intangible assets of Circuit City's e-commerce business.” The Bankruptcy Court issued its order approving the transaction on May 15, 2009 following a public auction conducted on May 11, 2009.
In addition to the purchase price of $14 million, Systemax also agreed to hand over a share of future revenue generated over a 30-month period. According to the press release, which simultaneously announced the acquisition and relaunch, the minimum future revenue guaranteed to Circuit City is $3 million.
So this isn’t a resurrection of Circuit City. Sniff.
Hat tip goes to ChaosGS4.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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Mr_Man I think it would be cool if they turned them into a "pick up" location for orders on their other sites (Tiger Direct, CompUSA, etc). Perhaps knock 50% off shipping costs or something if they do in-store pickup.Reply -
mrfisthand What a tremendous loss, they went baknkrupt for a reason, the pick up type location is a good idea though, they could also be used as an outlet type store for overstock and clearanceReply -
tiredwolf Im .. really not sure why anyone would want them back, they always had really terrible customer service and way over priced products. I think they went out of business for a reason.....Reply -
matt_b AntilycusOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDD newsReplyOn May 19 the Circuit City brand and website was purchased by Systemax Inc.,
Yes it is old news, but it was official just last week.
I always liked CC. Most everything I personally looked at was cheaper than BB - maybe a locale/regional thing (I live in the county it was based in)? Either way competition is needed and BB is a monopoly in the market now. Who else would you say can equate to the sheer size of them in electronics retail - Radio Shack, Target, Wal-mart? Maybe if you combine all of them into one sales figure and factor in all of the little guys as well. -
dman3k Maybe now I can return the broken video card I got for $25 that VisionTek just won't repair cause it's not hardware defect... :(Reply -
meatwad53186 dman3kMaybe now I can return the broken video card I got for $25 that VisionTek just won't repair cause it's not hardware defect...Reply
That sucks. Did you buy it on clearance when they were going out of business? I went in when they were going out of business and picked up a Logitech G15 and a G9 for $70 each for my upcoming build (but I'm using them now anyway). -
starryman Got the grand opening email from CC... saw some pretty good deals. Unfortunately NewEgg has them still beat out.Reply