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posted by cmn32480 on Monday January 15 2018, @11:41PM   Printer-friendly
from the signs-of-the-zombie-apocalypse dept.

Circuit City [Ed:Circuit City was a multinational consumer electronics retail company that operated stores across the United States] is coming back, and this time, the license holders propping up the ancient big-box retail chain say they mean it.

Following a tease of a CES announcement, current company CEO Ronny Shmoel confirmed on Monday that something called Circuit City will arrive as "a new, more personalized online shopping experience" starting February 15. The announcement event, which was reported by tech-business outlet Twice, included promises of AI-driven recommendations fueled by IBM's Watson platform, plus unexplained "augmented reality" and "search by photo" features.

[...] With this news in mind, we're keeping an eye on Radio Shack's own shambling corpse. That company currently lives as a license granted to one of the former company's creditors when nobody else bid more for the rights in 2017.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/01/the-corpse-of-circuit-city-will-rise-again-on-february-15/


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:09AM (14 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:09AM (#622863)

    Just why?!

  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:12AM (12 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:12AM (#622868) Journal

    Because apparently Best Buy wasn't enough.

    Or it is a scheme to fleece investors or launder some money.

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    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:22AM (7 children)

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:22AM (#622874)

      It's name recognition, an online retailer named "Circuit City" is going to attract more shoppers and make them feel more confident in doing business than one named "Gadget Geeks" (except maybe in the UK where there was a TV show....) The name has some residual value, even after the whole fiasco that was their brick and mortar customer experience. Same for Radio Shack.

      I was always pretty confused why the seaplane company in Miami bought the PanAm name for their operation, but, apparently it was worth something...

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      • (Score: 3, Informative) by bob_super on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:32AM (6 children)

        by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:32AM (#622883)

        My problem with that name recognition is that I, and many others, decided to never buy from them again, after the previous management decided to lay off all their experienced salepeople to replace them with cheaper bodies (optionally, offer them the new lower salary).

        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:37AM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:37AM (#622889)

          Sure if you want to hold a grudge like that then you will never shop again anywhere. Abandon electronics entirely and live off the grid because that is where you are headed. Capitalism is not going to get any better for your benefit.

          • (Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:55AM

            by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:55AM (#622896)

            As I wrote, "previous management" did something dumb to line up their pockets, while screwing the workers and reducing the quality of service to customers.
            It turns out that didn't work out so well for the company (can't tell about their pockets).

            If some random unrelated guy wants to revive the name, I hold no grudge and understand the concept of Name Recognition.
            But in this particular case, my immediate reaction, like many other people I'm sure, is not positive.

          • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday January 16 2018, @01:37AM

            by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday January 16 2018, @01:37AM (#622917) Journal

            Amazon, Best Buy, and Newegg are all more established online sellers of electronics. Along with Staples, Walmart, Office MaxDepot, Target, etc. If someone decides to boycott Circuit City, they won't be starved for alternatives.

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        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:54AM (1 child)

          by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:54AM (#622895)

          Yeah, but you know something and might be able to make a rational decision - that puts you in a small minority. Also, if you're really thinking rationally, you know the new entity has absolutely nothing to do with prior management.

          Most people deciding between A and B will choose the one they've heard of before, instead of an unknown, even if there's been some bad blood with the one they know, it's not as scary as a total unknown.

          Sears has screwed me and my family, hard, many times in the past, and I generally avoid them - but... about a year ago when I needed a socket wrench, all that bad blood didn't stop me from buying it from them.

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          • (Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Tuesday January 16 2018, @06:55AM

            by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Tuesday January 16 2018, @06:55AM (#623019) Homepage
            The new management and the old management share the view that brand familiarity is stronger than the taint of shitty management decisions.
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        • (Score: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday January 16 2018, @03:33PM

          by Phoenix666 (552) on Tuesday January 16 2018, @03:33PM (#623150) Journal

          That is why I stopped going there. Their salespeople knew nothing at all about technology, and invariably pointed me toward the mega-pack of something that cost the most.

          I have had better luck with Micro Center. They have everything Circuit City had plus a DIY section. Their salespeople know something about tech, and they try to help you find what you need. They don't have that many locations [microcenter.com], but there might be one near you.

          --
          Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:24AM

      by frojack (1554) on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:24AM (#622875) Journal

      Or, because Best Buy was never anything approximating the Best.

      Breaking into the already overcrowded on-line market is going to be tricky.

      Still "a new, more personalized online shopping experience" is probably better chances than opening brick and motor stores again.

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    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:26AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 16 2018, @12:26AM (#622878)

      Who needs Best Buy? We got Target.

      Who needs Target? We got Walmart.

  • (Score: 5, Funny) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday January 16 2018, @01:40AM

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Tuesday January 16 2018, @01:40AM (#622919) Journal

    Because they didn't cover the grave with concrete. Any good zombie prepper knows that.