Along with ACAC, Charlottesville’s Circuit City reigns supreme in the Albemarle Square shopping center. But the big red and white sign, visible from Route 29, will soon disappear.
On November 3, Circuit City Stores, Inc., announced it will be closing 155 stores nationwide to combat a “continued weak macroeconomic environment.” Of the three stores that will close in Virginia, Charlottesville’s local retailer made the list. It will shut its doors when the current liquidation sale concludes.
The other two Virginia stores are in Manassas and at Tyson’s Corner.
Dumbarton Properties, Inc., which manages Albemarle Square, had no prior knowledge of the store closing. “We found out when everybody else found out,” says leasing agent Michael Plotkin. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s part of the business world.”
Although it’s too early to tell what will happen to the space and to the livelihood of the shopping center, Plotkin says there has been some interest. “We have nothing concrete yet,” he says, but “we’ve received calls from brokers already.”
On November 5, the first night of the sale, the otherwise dormant Albemarle Square was bustling with shoppers. While the store was somewhat crowded with browsing families, only a couple of people were lined up at the registers. Wii video games were discounted 10 percent, TV furniture also discounted 10 percent, and other electronics between 10 to 30 percent. All sales were final.
According to a news release, because of national store closures, 17 percent of Circuit City employees will lose their jobs.
Circuit City blames the current financial climate for the decline in consumer spending, which, in turn, has impacted its ability to do business with vendors.
“The combination of these trends has strained severely our working capital and liquidity, and so we are making a number of difficult, but necessary, decisions to address the company’s financial situation as quickly as possible,” said James A. Marcum, Circuit City’s vice chairman and acting president and chief executive officer.
On November 10, the Associated Press reported that Circuit City, a Richmond based company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, allowing the company to operate as normal until a reorganization plan is in place. The filing also allows the company to hold off creditors.
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