While Circuit City has already announced plans to close 155 stores nationwide, a reliable industry source tells us that the company is looking to close another 150 stores—with that announcement possibly coming in as little as two weeks from now. As for which stores close, it'll be a simple question of which locations remaining have the worst profitability. Black Friday looks to be a large indicator of how this whole scenario will play out. More as we get it.

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Today, Best Buy's President and Chief Operating Officer called today's sales climate the worst he's seen in 42 years, citing that "People are making dramatic changes in how much they spend, and we're not immune from those forces." Indeed, we've already heard from an inside source that Best Buy has quietly restructured their high-end Magnolia department, reducing expenditures to pre-holiday levels and cross training the employees to work in the normal home theatre department. Now an internal memo leaked by The Consumerist explains how else Best Buy plans to cope on a wider scale:

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Circuit City might yet outdo Best Buy on Black Friday deals for another year. Bank of America has given Circuit City a $US1.1 billion loan that'll help cover its operating expenses until it's expected to come out of bankruptcy next year, giving it a second chance. Still, I don't see how even a billion dollars will cover all the money they owe people like Samsung and HP. I mean, I'd be busting some kneecaps if I were them.

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Now that Circuit City's closing up shop, perhaps we should take a minute to remember other failed gadget dealers from our country's storied history. Technologizer's compiled a bunch of old television ads from now defunct tech stores and they're a treasure trove of early 1990s cheesiness and the repetitive mantra, "Lowest prices! Best Selection! Amazing service!," that none of them could actually provide. Remember Nobody Beats The Wiz? Crazy Eddie? The short-lived death of CompUSA? Who doesn't love nostalgia for the ghosts of retailers past? [Technologizer]

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After closing 155 stores last week, Circuit City has finally bitten the dust. The electronics store chain--with 721 stores in the US and 770 in Canada--has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia, pressured by the recession and competition from Best Buy and Wal-Mart. However, it may not be the end for the chain yet.

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Poor Optus. It seems they can't go a full week without getting slammed for the shoddy state of their 3G network. The latest blow comes from Dan Warne at APC, who's reporting that Virgin Broadband (which uses Optus' 3G network) has had to pull their wireless home internet service from retail shelves due to the sheer volume of complaints they were getting about the quality of the service.

The product is still available to purchase from their website, which enables them to be a lot more thorough when checking coverage areas for potential customers.

Hopefully Optus will sort their network out before Virgin's broadband solution disappears completely - it's a good idea for people who don't really need a lot of bandwidth or speed from their internet.

[APCMag]

In a gloomy economy, Circuit City manages to be a dark beacon of "Hey, at least I don't work there" optimism. With 155 stores shuttered, the bloody axe now falls to corporate, several email tips are telling us. "Massive... Read More »

If you've wanted to get your hands on some TiVo action but don't live anywhere near a Harvey Norman, Domayne, JB HiFi, Clive Anthony's or Dick Smith Electronics store, there may be another option for you come November 10 (but don't hold your breath).

David Jones is joining the rapidly expanding list of retailers stocking the "digital media device" on their shelves. And while the TiVo itself is becoming more and more appealing, does anybody really buy their consumer electronics from DJs? If so, why? From my experience, everything they sell is stuck at RRP with no room for negotiation.

In any case, more retailers is a good thing for TiVo, if not potential customers.

Sure, election coverage is getting the most play tonight, but we're equally (well, almost) invested in the destruction of everybody's favourite mediocre consumer electronics chain - Circuit City. A tipster has sent us a sneak peek at Circuit City's severance pay, and it's not pretty. Part-time associates get an extra 75 cents an hour, full-time and home entertainment associates get a full dollar, and supervisors receive a generous (NOT) extra $US1.50 per hour. Even better, employees can't transfer to different stores and must stay until the very last day of liquidation to get the bonus. Those who are about to end their jobs as disgruntled gadget jockeys, we salute you. [Thanks Tipster!]

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It's official. Circuit City is closing 155 stores, as the Consumerist broke yesterday. They're also "reducing future store openings," but whatever, you wanna know if your local Circuit City is gone. Here's the complete list of stores slotted for obliteration.

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