WhereIsAtlas · Consumer electronics

Circuit City

The electronics superstore that Best Buy and the internet switched off

Defunct — Liquidated in 2009 after failing to outcompete Best Buy; about 567 US stores closed.

Circuit City started in 1949 as Wards, a Richmond, Virginia television shop, and by the 1980s had grown into one of America's two big consumer-electronics chains. Its Superstore format - huge showrooms of TVs, stereos and appliances with knowledgeable, commissioned sales staff - made it the destination for the early home-entertainment boom, and its "Circuit City: We're responsible" ads stamped it into the culture.

The 2000s undid it. To cut costs it eliminated commissioned sales, which gutted the service that differentiated it; it walked away from PC retail; and it kept operating big but unfocused stores. Meanwhile Best Buy ran leaner, cheaper big-boxes, and Amazon and big-box discounters undercut prices on the exact products Circuit City sold. By 2007 the chain was bleeding money.

Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 on 4 November 2008 and liquidated in 2009, closing about 567 US stores and roughly 34,000 jobs. It became the textbook case of a category killer done in by its own cost-cutting and a leaner rival.

Timeline

  1. 1949 — Wards opens: Sam Wurtzel opens a TV store in Richmond, the seed of the future chain.
  2. 1984 — Circuit City: The chain renames itself Circuit City and pivots to big-box Superstores.
  3. 1990s — Electronics superstore era: Superstores and commissioned sales staff make it the #2 US electronics retailer.
  4. 2000 — Quitting PC retail: Circuit City abandons computer sales, one of several strategic missteps.
  5. 2003 — Commissioned sales axed: Cost-cutting removes the commissioned staff whose service set it apart.
  6. 2008 — Chapter 11: Overwhelmed by Best Buy, discounters and the web, Circuit City files for bankruptcy.
  7. 2009 — Liquidation: The chain liquidates, closing all US stores.

Quick facts

Founded
1949, as Wards
Renamed
Circuit City, 1984
Peak
#2 US electronics retailer, 1990s
Missteps
Killed commissioned sales, quit PC retail
Chapter 11
Nov 4, 2008
Liquidated
2009 (≈ 567 stores)

Sources

  1. Eight Reasons Why Circuit City Went Bankrupt — CBS News (2026-02-01)
  2. Circuit City Stores - Wikipedia — Wikipedia (2026-02-01)

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