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Even as shoppers wait expectantly for Black Friday to kick off the holiday shopping rush, retailers are already suffering.

Circuit City announced yesterday, not unexpectedly, that it would close 155 stores. That's 20 percent of the total, and would remove Circuit from 12 markets altogether. The chain will also lay off 17 percent of its workforce. Whether the cuts will be enough to save it from liquidation remains to be seen.

Circuit is also reported to be having difficulty meeting new credit terms from its vendors, some of whom are demanding payment up front, a symptom of the nation's worsening credit crisis. And its stock price has fallen so low, it risks being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

Circuit has been struggling for some time and has suffered from strategic mistakes, such as laying off experienced staff to cut costs, a move that sparked widespread derision.

Meanwhile, This Week in Consumer Electronics reports that Tweeter has been bought by a liquidator. The immediate impact will be the closing of all the chain's distribution centers. Instead suppliers will ship products directly to stores. Tweeter's woes are not of recent origin. The company was purchased last year in a bankruptcy auction, and last month, its CEO was replaced with a restructuring expert.