Circuit City Set To Stage Comeback, Hopes To Compete With Amazon, Best Buy
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Nearly a decade after Circuit City shut its doors, the former electronics retail giant could be ready to flip the power back on.
The announcement came during the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, where executives with Circuit City - now under new ownership - laid out plans to relaunch with "a dynamic, social-focused e-commerce site, along with various concepts of innovative retail stores, and unprecedented e-commerce technology offerings", according to a company statement.
In addition to focusing on both kiosks and stores within stores, the chain will relaunch on e-commerce, mobile, and other retail platforms. Circuit City is also partnering with IBM Watson commerce, which incorporates artificial intelligence "and other new retail technologies".
"The IBM web commerce platform will allow Circuit City to expand offerings for a personalized shopping experience and enhance the product discovery journey," company officials said in a statement.
It's a surprising development after Circuit City announced in Nov. 2008 it would close 155 stores and lay off about 17 percent of its workforce as the company struggled to stay profitable. The last Circuit City store closed its doors in March 2009.
Since then, big box stores like Best Buy and Walmart along with online retail giant Amazon have taken over much of the consumer electronics market.
The Circuit City website is scheduled to relaunch on Feb. 15.
