Circuit City to Rise from the Ashes?

It wasn’t too long ago that I found myself reminiscing about Radio Shack in light of assurances by the new owners of the brand that it was basically a separate entity from the original that had gone bankrupt, thus leading to their ownership in the first place.

Fast-forward to today, when a similar story about Circuit City came up. Here, however, we have something of a second resurrection as TigerDirect owner Systemax, who had bought the brand in 2009 and shuttered it themselves in 2012, have sold it off to a pair of New York retail veterans who think they can do better under the Circuit City Corp. brand as they relaunch it this spring.

I found this of some mild interest, as I have to admit that I never had the experience with Circuit City that I did with Radio Shack. See, sort of like Toys R Us, Circuit City was what we could call a “big city brand.” (Fittingly enough, the nearest Circuit City to us shared a building as the sole other resident with the nearest Toys R Us). As I did not live in a big city at the time, I typically did not get to go there very often. Driving by on the highway or visiting the aforementioned Toys R Us, though, I did appreciate how the building actually looked like the unique shape seen at the end of commercials, wherein a giant electrical plug flew in out of the night sky and took its rightful place in the ground between the walls on either side.

And really, that was the biggest mark that the brand left on me: its commercials, and that catchy jingle, “Welcome to Circuit City, where service is state of the art!”

You can hear it for yourself in some of these ads I found on YouTube:

That price-matching policy did catch my attention, though, and was pretty innovative at the time, if I’m not mistaken.

Incidentally, the evening atmosphere that bit at the end provided did make me at least a little bit fond of the brand. What can I say? I love the night.

Oh, and that jingle? Turns out it’s part of a longer song that you could find on the laserdiscs they ran in their stores, which you can see here:

So, best of luck to the new holders of the brand. May their advertising be as memorable, and may their service be state of the art.

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

For a full list of places to find him online, click here.