Circuit City Stores, Inc. ( ) was an American dealer and retailer in brand-name consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software, and (until 2000) large appliances. The company opened its first store in 1949 and liquidated its final American stores in 2009 following a bankruptcy filing and subsequent failure to find a buyer. As part of its bankruptcy, the company is selling its Canadian subsidiary, InterTAN (which operates as "The Source by Circuit City"), to Bell Canada.

At the time of liquidation, Circuit City was the second largest U.S. electronics retailer, after Best Buy. There were 567 Circuit City Superstores nationwide, ranging in size from 15,000 to 45,000 square feet (1400 to 4000 m²), when the company announced total liquidation. An additional 155 stores were closed when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2008 with the intent of continuing operations. However, attributing its ultimate demise to the lack of consumer spending and overall economic downturn during the late 2000s recession, Circuit City began liquidation of its remaining stores on January 16, 2009, and they were all closed on or before March 8, 2009. A small staff remains on hand at corporate headquarters to complete the company's business, including the termination of its many leases, and the sale of its company-owned real estate and Canadian subsidiary.

According to Circuit City's website, there are plans to re-establish an online presence under the Circuit City name in the next few weeks. Hilco, Systemax , and others are looking to purchase the Circuit City name and website.

Beginnings

In 1949, Samuel S. Wurtzel opened the first Wards Company retail store in Richmond, Virginia, at 705 West Broad Street.The Associated Press. "SAMUEL S. WURTZEL :1. " New York Times York, N.Y. 7 Dec. 1985,Late Edition (East Coast): 1.12. (Wards Company and Circuit City are completely unrelated to the other former retailer that went out of business in the 2000s, Montgomery Ward.) The name "Wards" was actually an acronym of the founder's last initial and the initials of members of his family (W = Wurtzel; A = Alan; R = Ruth; D = David; S = Sam).

By 1959, Wards Company operated four television and home appliance stores in Richmond. The company continued to grow and acquired stores in other locations including Albany, New York; Mobile, Alabama; Washington, DC; and Costa Mesa, California. During the 1970s and early 1980s it also sold mail-order under the name Dixie Hifi, advertising in the hifi magazines of the day. In Richmond, Wards experimented with several retail formats including smaller mall outlets branded "Sight-n-Sound," "Circuit City," and lastly "Ward's Loading Dock," its first big-box format. The large-format store clicked with consumers, as did the Circuit City name.Gilligan, Gregory J. "Expanding into new markets, creating new stores, selling cars, Circuit City is a company on the move. " Richmond Times-Dispatch Va. 14 Jun 1993 They were combined into the retail format of the "Circuit City Superstore," which then went national.