Audio Video News

Recent doings at Circuit City may be of interest in the wake of the mass firings reported here and elsewhere. The story became a Primedia trifecta--covered here, on the Stereophile site, and on the Ultimate AV site--in addition to wide coverage elsewhere including a stern editorial in the New York Times.

According to TWICE, the company is getting as hard-knuckled with business partners as it is with employees, renegotiating terms with vendors and service-plan providers. Marketing initiatives include a "basket of goods" that would add accessories, warranties, and installation to TV pricetags. And new store operating procedures will relieve surviving personnel of redundant tasks, leaving them more time to sell stuff, to the best of their abilities.

Perhaps the most notable news in Circuit's turnaround plans will be the opening of 65 new stores in 2007 and 100 more in 2008. And so the fight for survival continues in the increasingly Darwinian world of CE retailing.