Circuit City isn’t posing much of a threat to similar stores like Best Buy and Future Shop.  For the fifth straight quarter the electronics giant has lost money.  It has lost even more money than it did in the previous quarter.  This time the loss amounted to the tune of just under $165 million.

Things are getting worse, not better and it’s happening quickly.  According to The Consumerist, same-store sales were down 11.3 percent.  That is supposedly a good indicator of retailer health.  It’s time for Circuit City to check itself into a hospital and go on life-support.

At this point it would not be surprising if Blockbuster made the decision to not buy up Circuit City.

The CEO, Philip J. Schoonover is not convinced it is all doom and gloom.  He said in a conference call to investors that,

This is a quarter of steady progress.  We still have a long way to go, but I’m encouraged by what we’ve been able to accomplish.

What’s there left to do?  Lose even more money and declare chapter 11 bankruptcy?

Face it, the prices at Circuit City aren’t that great and are almost always beat by Best Buy.  Even if Circuit City has the lowest price chances are good you can head over to a Best Buy and get them to match it.  Where there is a Circuit City there is very likely a Best Buy nearby.

Let’s not discount online-only retailers which consistently have the lowest price when compared with brick and mortar stores.  And in most cases you don’t have to pay tax on those purchases.  I hate paying sales tax especially at 6 percent.

I bet these stores would make less money if they were required to include the sales tax with the prices listed in ads.  I would make that a state law and then push for it to be a national law.

Related:

Entry was posted on Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 at 12:33 pm under Opinion, Retail, Technology, Uncategorized.

Read more entries by Jonathan Schlaffer.
Stumble It!