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10 Failed Electronics Retailers
CE Pro rounds up 10 failed electronics retailers throughout the years.
The economy has certainly done a number on many electronics companies.
But no struggles have been more documented than those of Circuit City and Tweeter, which both have begun liquidating and closing stores.
Tweeter is reportedly trying to save $12 million per year by also closing its distribution centers. Circuit City, the No. 2 electronics retailer in the nation, meanwhile, has received approval from the bankruptcy court that will enable it to continue running its business.
While the two big-box retailers are not yet out of business, many in the industry believe it's only a matter of time before the companies are defunct.
But it's not like we haven't seen this before. Big-box retailers have been going out of business for decades. Whether it's due to poor management, competition, tough times or even crazy advertisements, big-box chains will always come and go.
We wanted to stir up some fond (or not so fond) memories of defunct electronics retailers of years past.
While this certainly is only a partial list, we've rounded up our favorites from Federated to Crazy Eddie and The Good Guys.
Click here to view 10 failed electronics retailers throughout the years.
But no struggles have been more documented than those of Circuit City and Tweeter, which both have begun liquidating and closing stores.
Tweeter is reportedly trying to save $12 million per year by also closing its distribution centers. Circuit City, the No. 2 electronics retailer in the nation, meanwhile, has received approval from the bankruptcy court that will enable it to continue running its business.
While the two big-box retailers are not yet out of business, many in the industry believe it's only a matter of time before the companies are defunct.
But it's not like we haven't seen this before. Big-box retailers have been going out of business for decades. Whether it's due to poor management, competition, tough times or even crazy advertisements, big-box chains will always come and go.
We wanted to stir up some fond (or not so fond) memories of defunct electronics retailers of years past.
While this certainly is only a partial list, we've rounded up our favorites from Federated to Crazy Eddie and The Good Guys.
Click here to view 10 failed electronics retailers throughout the years.
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About the Author
Steve Crowe, Web Editor
Steve is an editor for cepro.com. He graduated from Emerson College with a B.A. in Journalism. He joined the CE Pro staff in 2008. Steve is also a freelance sports writer for The Boston Globe and other various publications.
4 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
I couldn’t agree more, that is exactly what is happening with the electronics market. It is indeed sad.
What about Ultimate Electronics, did’nt they die a horrible death too.
I am one of the home town retailers that these guys have price busted to blow out the little guys.
I have seen them come and go. The customer never learns. In the long run every business will get Walmatius due to greed. They are next…
Page 1 of 1 comment pages
Ultimately, Tweeter serves as a cautionary tale of a once very successful specialist that turned into a tragedy and ultimately went out with a whimper. I remember an organization in the 90’s that placed great importance in the notion that people who want something better out of their shopping experience will flock to your doors if you heavily invest in quality people, believe in the importance of a demonstration in upselling and price better products competitively in the market. A company filled with fantastic people like Paul Shindler, Jamie Feuss and Chris Bauer and many more that I remember fondly. But that Tweeter was going away in 2002 and was replaced by something else entirely. Naturally, the quality people left and that was the beginning of the end.
Here is the lesson: you are either selling a commodity or you are adding value to justify your existence. Choose. Tweeter replaced the value that they added with nothing, sacrificing a successful vision for a flawed ones thought up by people who did not understand the business and mistakenly thought that it was more like Staples than Williams Sonoma. Sad.