Audio Video News

Circuit City will close all existing stores on Sunday, ending a long-drama over the electronics mega-chain's struggle for survival and its lengthy goodbye.

The end is coming a week earlier than scheduled because shoppers flocked to the going-out-of-business sale and four liquidators running the stores have run out of inventory. The Associated Press caught the ambience: "At a store near the company's headquarters, shoppers sifted through CDs, DVDs, and bins of accessories and wires Wednesday while the machines that workers were using to dismantle fixtures roared in the background. The store's back half was blocked off with yellow tape, the shelves emptied of their inventory."

A skeleton crew of 150 will remain employed a little while longer, tying up loose ends.

Circuit City was founded in 1949. At its height, the chain had 567 stores nationwide, and in the CE realm it was second in size only to Best Buy. Circuit filed for bankruptcy in November 2008 after seven money-losing quarters. The chain's Canadian counterpart, under separate ownership, will continue to do business under the ownership of Bell Canda.