1. Circuit City Founded in 1949 as the Wards Company. Circuit City is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. At the time of the liquidation announcement (January 16, 2009), the company operated 567 stores in 153 media markets in the U.S. The liquidation will not affect Canadian stores.

2. Circuit City “From 1982-1999 Circuit City generated cumulative stock returns 22 times better than the market, handily beating Intel, Wal-Mart, GE, Hewlett- Packard and Coca-Cola” – Jim Collins 2001 Best Buy has surpassed Circuit City #3 Retailer behind Best Buy and Wal-Mart

3. Circuit City Changes for Circuit City  Customer focused business  Plans to utilize technology  Sold noncore businesses  Pay structure  Relocating stores  New management

4. Circuit City 1. How would anticipating Best Buy’s growth have helped Circuit City remain as an industry leader?  Competitive Strategy – how an organization is going to compete in a specific business or industry.  SWOT analysis

5. Circuit City 2. Why is keeping up with technology critical to a global company such as Circuit City?  Reducing Costs  Improving Productivity  Generating Growth  People, Information and Information Technology

6. Circuit City 3. Highlight some of the potential risks facing Circuit City’s new business model.  Resistance to change  Expensive IT infrastructure

7. Circuit City 4. Why is Circuit City benefiting from implementing strategic product placement techniques?  Functional Strategy – short-term goal directed decisions and actions of the organization’s various functional areas  Increased sales  Recognized as being “easy” to shop

8. Current Information 567 US stores Employs approx. 34,000 people Operating under bankruptcy protection since November Liquidated 155 stores this year Sales plummeted during holiday season Vendors demanding up front payment Will be liquidated under bankruptcy laws

9. Resources Lattman, P., & McCracken, J. (2009, January 16). Clock ticks for Circuit City sale. The Wall Street Journal, p. B1. Circuit City Stores Inc. to liquidate (2009, ). Retrieved January 21, 2009, from www.circuitcity.com/releasedetail www.circuitcity.com/releasedetail Coulter, M. (2008). Strategic management in action (4th ed., pp. 7-8). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Haag, S., Baltzan, P., & Phillips, A. (2008). Business driven technology (2nd ed., pp. 7-11). Boston: McGraw Hill.