Circuit City Officially Closing All Stores March 8th

Circuit City announced today that it plans to shutdown all 567 stores across the country on March 8th, 2009. Many of the stores have already closed down due to low inventory. In January, Circuit City announced its bankruptcy and closing of stores which would go down as the largest electronics retailer to go bankrupt.

The company began liquidating its $1.7 billion in inventory in January to help repay back some of its debt. Now consumers have limited brick and mortar stores to choose from such as Best Buy, HH Gregg, and a handful of others.

Circuit City dates back to the Wards Company, opening in Richmond Virgina in 1948 by Samuel S. Wurtzel. The name "Wards" was actually an acronym of the founder's last initial and the initials of members of his family (W = Wurtzel; A = Alan; R = Ruth; D = David; S = Sam). In 1959 the Wards Company operated four television and home appliance stores in Richmond and continued to grow in New York, Mobile Alabama, DC, and other locations. The company also sold via mail-order under the name, Dixi HiFi. In 1984 the company officially changed its name to Circuit City and listed the company on the New York Stock Exchange.