Counter Culture

Now that Blockbuster is no longer interested in acquiring Circuit City, what is next for the electronics chain?

Blockbuster and its major shareholder Carl Icahn backed out of their $1-billion-plus offer after Circuit City opened its books for the suitors. Apparently, they didn’t like what they saw.
Continue reading ‘What’s Next For Circuit City?’

It seems that Circuit City’s management was just as surprised as we were about a proposed $1.3-billion offer to acquire the company by Blockbuster.

We were weighing a possible deal last week after reading a Business Week article but didn’t expect this.
Continue reading ‘Blockbuster’s Circuit City Surprise’

We just read a Business Week story that ponders whether or not Circuit City is putting itself up for sale. The retailer is getting pressure from investor Mark Wattles, who owns a 6.5% stake in the company, and other investors, to make changes. And there are rumors, the article says, that Circuit City’s management has hired Goldman Sachs to look at strategic alternatives.

Though Circuit City posted a $4.9-million fourth-quarter profit, management predicts a loss of between $180 million and $195 million in the current quarter. Q4 same-store sales fell 10.4%, and for the coming year, they are expected to decline in the mid-single digits.
Continue reading ‘Is Circuit City Sellable?’

A New York Times article from earlier this week kind of freaks us out. Apparently you can go into a big-box store like Best Buy, Circuit City or Home Depot and haggle down prices.

We would expect this kind of behavior to take place at a crafts fair or in an antique shop, but at big chain stores? Certainly, we have never tried this tactic when shopping and wouldn’t expect a very good response from a salesperson. “Hey, can you knock a few bucks off of the price of the DVD?” It just doesn’t seem feasible.
Continue reading ‘Don’t Like the Price? Just Haggle’