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Consumers Not Quitting on Circuit City
Systemax-owned CircuitCity.com has “reactivated” the chain’s old customer base, according to positive Q3 2009 earnings.
CircuitCity.com could be a factor during the 2009 holiday shopping season.
Don't underestimate the value of being bookmarked.
Consumers are still shopping at CircuitCity.com, despite the long-time retailer having liquidated its remaining 567 stores in early 2009.
Systemax scooped up Circuit City’s brand and URL in May 2009 for $14 million.
Systemax, which also owns TigerDirect.com and CompUSA.com, released its Q3 2009 earnings, saying those three sites contributed to the company’s “strong performance in the consumer channel.”
Chairman and CEO Richard Leeds, says the three sites combined put Systemax “in the top five in terms of traffic and market share in the United States in the consumer electronics segment.”
CircuitCity.com’s lingering relevance has led to columnists calling it a dark horse in the battle for Circuit City’s old customers — a battle that generally includes Best Buy and Walmart.
Systemax isn't solely focused on e-commerce — at least when it comes to CompUSA. It recently opened two stores, and Leeds says leases have been signed for stores in several new U.S. markets.
"Our strategy is to expand in the large metropolitan areas where we already maintain a presence and in new markets that can support stand-alone destination stores — either stores located in areas that are within driving distance from several large metropolitan areas and where we believe CompUSA can generate significant volume and deliver a profitable and growing store."
Consumers are still shopping at CircuitCity.com, despite the long-time retailer having liquidated its remaining 567 stores in early 2009.
Systemax scooped up Circuit City’s brand and URL in May 2009 for $14 million.
Systemax, which also owns TigerDirect.com and CompUSA.com, released its Q3 2009 earnings, saying those three sites contributed to the company’s “strong performance in the consumer channel.”
Chairman and CEO Richard Leeds, says the three sites combined put Systemax “in the top five in terms of traffic and market share in the United States in the consumer electronics segment.”
5 Electronics Retailers That Came Back From the Dead
Check out our popular gallery of electronics retailers that came from the dead, including Crazy Eddie and The Wiz.
Leeds adds:Check out our popular gallery of electronics retailers that came from the dead, including Crazy Eddie and The Wiz.
… while the brand has a long history in retail, it's still in its early stages as a Systemax company and as an online ecommerce site only. CircuitCity had taken a deliberate strategy to efficiently re-launch the site and reintroduce the brand to the public. In the short time that the site has been live it has expanded product categories and selection, adding more consumer electronics and house wares products, reactivated the customer base with targeted e-mail campaigns, and initiated a robust marketing campaign.
While results will be measured near term, the strategy is progressing smoothly, and we're excited about the potential as sales from CircuitCity.com already contribute to overall sales growth in the third quarter. In addition, CircuitCity is a prized asset that has significant value outside of ecommerce, and we're currently exploring opportunities to extract that value.
CircuitCity.com’s lingering relevance has led to columnists calling it a dark horse in the battle for Circuit City’s old customers — a battle that generally includes Best Buy and Walmart.
Systemax isn't solely focused on e-commerce — at least when it comes to CompUSA. It recently opened two stores, and Leeds says leases have been signed for stores in several new U.S. markets.
"Our strategy is to expand in the large metropolitan areas where we already maintain a presence and in new markets that can support stand-alone destination stores — either stores located in areas that are within driving distance from several large metropolitan areas and where we believe CompUSA can generate significant volume and deliver a profitable and growing store."
Circuit City's Difficult 2008
 | Circuit City to Liquidate Remaining U.S. Stores Four liquidators to sell merchandise in remaining 567 U.S. stores. More than 35,000 jobs will reportedly be lost. Circuit City Receives Approval from Bankruptcy Court Circuit City has received approval for its $1.1 billion debtor-in-possession (DIP) revolving credit facility a day after voluntarily filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Circuit City Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Company says filing will allow it to continue business as usual, paying salaries and benefits and honoring returns and gift cards. Report: Circuit City to Close 155 Stores Big-box retailer is exiting several markets and has hired a team of liquidators to clear out the affected stores Circuit City Reports Non-Compliance With NYSE NYSE to assign ".BC" indicator to Circuit City's symbol to indicate it's below continued listing standards. Is this Finally It For Circuit City? How you can take advantage of the possible failure of the big-box retailer. Circuit City CEO Philip Schoonover Resigns The embattled CE retailer says Schoonover's resignation is effective immediately. He will be replaced by James Marcum. Circuit City Appoints 'Turnaround Executive,' Hints at Sale Company says new vice chairman James A. Marcum is highly experienced at turning retailers around. |
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Article Topics
News · Big-Box Retailers · Best Buy · Big-box Retailers · Circuit City · Walmart · Systemax · Compusa · Tiger Direct ·About the Author
Tom LeBlanc, Senior Writer/Technology Editor, CE Pro
Tom has been covering consumer electronics for six years. Before that, he wrote for the sports department of the Boston Herald. Migrating to magazines, he was a staff editor for a golf publication and an outdoor sports publication. Now, as senior writer/technology editor of CE Pro magazine since 2003, he dabbles in all departments and offers expertise in marketing. Follow him on Twitter @leblanctom.
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I was hoping that the Circuit City name would be dead and buried by now. Their ineffective merchandising coupled with inadequate inventory, and lame brain sales staff left a very bad taste with just about anyone that I know. I was working for a vendor selling to the original Circuit before they crashed and I could tell by their purchasing errors and inability to do any accurate projections that they were doomed.