American multinational consumer electronics superstore Circuit City is making a comeback with its first retail store set to open this June.
Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in 2008, resulting in the closure of about 700 retail stores across the U.S. Systemax, an American Fortune 1000 company that bought the "Circuit City" brand and used it to sell media and electronics items via CircuitCity.com. In December 2012, the Circuit City's online operations merged with TigerDirect.
In October 2015, the intellectual property and the brand name were sold to retailers Albert Liniado and Ronny Shmoel, who founded the Circuit City Corporation with the intent to open Circuit City retail locations again. However, the retailers will be adopting the boutique model rather than the superstore business model.
According to trade publication Twice, the area of the upcoming Circuit City stores will be in the range of 2,000 and 4,000 square feet. The stores will have product zones, so customers can choose products based on brands and categories.
The Circuit City stores will be targeted at millennials and will include a number of products such as smartphones, tablets, wearables, notebooks, gaming products, 3D printers, drones, headphones and more. Touchscreens and electronic price tags will enhance customers' buying experience.
The retail stores will also keep an assortment of high-quality but value-priced products under the company's own brand name. These products include power banks, USB cables and digital accessories.
Liniado says that the stores will have adequate staff who receive training and salary, as well as commissions. The stores will be made by the same fabricator who works with other big businesses such as Verizon and AT&T.
The first Circuit City store is expected to be opened in June in the Dallas market. Shmoel, the CEO of the enterprise, says that around 50 to 100 corporate-owned stores should be up and running by the end of 2017. Shmoel also plans to have between 100 and 200 franchised stores in the U.S. by 2017.
The franchised stores will be about 1,500 square-feet will include limited variety of gadgets mostly in the price range of $9.99 to $29.99.
Shmoel says the has already formed a team comprised of ex-RadioShack franchise personnel, former employees of many major retail chains and retail enthusiast Liniado. Major brand endorsements with popular companies such as Canon and Sony are also in place.
"The vendors were very excited," says Shmoel. "We want to become best partners with them. Brands have become diminished in lieu of price, and consumer education has worsened with the growth of the web."
Shmoel also notes that he has studied the mistakes and successes of retail chains to improve the shopping experience of customers.
Photo: Terry Ross | Flickr
