Circuit City
Where Service is State of the Art
|
|
|
Formerly called
|
Wards Company (1949-1984) Circuit City Stores (1984–2009) |
|---|---|
| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Fate | Original: Bankruptcy |
| Founded | January 1, 1949 (as Wards Company) Richmond, Virginia, U.S. January 1, 1984 (as Circuit City) January 2016 (As Circuit City Corporation under a new name) |
| Founder | Samuel S. Wurtzel |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Products | Consumer electronics |
| Owner | Ronny Shmoel |
| Website | www |
Circuit City was an American multinational consumer electronics company. It was founded in 1949 by Samuel Wurtzel as the Wards Company and pioneered the electronics superstore format in the 1970s. After multiple purchases and a successful run on the NYSE, it changed its name to Circuit City Stores Inc.
In early 1949 Wurtzel was on vacation in Richmond, Virginia when, while at a local barber shop, he was witness to the start of television in the South. Imagining the opportunities, in late 1949, he moved his family to Richmond and opened the first Wards Company retail store. Later, Abraham L. Hecht joined him as a partner in the business.
By 1959, Wards Company operated four television and home appliance stores in Richmond. The company continued to grow and acquired stores in other locations including Albany, New York; Mobile, Alabama; Washington, D.C.; and Costa Mesa, California. During the 1970s and early 1980s, it also sold mail-order under the name "Dixie Hi Fi", advertising in hi-fi magazines. Wards experimented with several retail formats in Richmond, including smaller mall outlets branded "Sight-n-Sound" and "Circuit City".
Wards Company officially changed its name to Circuit City and became listed on the in 1984. One of the company's early slogans was "Circuit City — Where the Streets are Paved with Bargains". The company, which had leased floor space from the Zody's department stores as well as other department stores, began acquiring retail stores and turning them into Circuit City Superstores. The first of these replacements occurred in Knoxville, Tennessee; Charleston, South Carolina; and Hampton, Virginia.
In 1981, Circuit City entered the New York City market by acquiring the six remaining stores of the bankrupt Lafayette Radio chain. They operated the stores under the "Lafayette/Circuit City" name and expanded to 15 locations, but the stores were not profitable and were closed in 1986 after spending US$20 million to enter the market. Wurtzel served as president of the company until 1970. He remained the chairman until 1984. When he stepped down, his son Alan served as chairman until 1994.
...
Wikipedia