Circuit City files for bankruptcy, which major company is next?

[SBR Lou]

Anyone see this coming? Seems like a bad time to be a CC shareholder.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Circuit City Stores Inc., the nation's second-biggest electronics retailer, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday but plans to stay open for business as the busy holiday shopping season approaches.

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It filed under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, which will allow it to hold off creditors and continue operations while it develops a reorganization plan.

The Richmond, Va.-based company has been struggling as nervous consumers spend less and credit has become tighter, and the retail industry overall is facing what's expected to be the weakest holiday season in decades.

Circuit City also said it would cut 700 more jobs, after announcing a week ago that it would close 20 percent of its stores and lay off thousands of workers.

"This isn't a surprise," JPMorgan analyst Christopher Horvers said, adding that the reorganization could help the company get out of leases for certain bad store locations.

Read more

[CaneDawg]

Best Buy cleaned them out

They have much better business model

Ever been to a Circuit City.....dumps compared to BBUY

[SBR Lou]

Does Best Buy deliver and install tv stands/tv's like CC does though? CC charges an arm and a leg but install just about everything for you.

[CaneDawg]

Does Best Buy deliver and install tv stands/tv's like CC does though? CC charges an arm and a leg but install just about everything for you.

Yes they install

Also have the geek squad for computers

[street495]

Anyone see this coming? Seems like a bad time to be a CC shareholder.

Not a retailer, but I think Goldman sacks is next.

[20Four7]

I'm hoping it's wal mart, but that isn't going to happen.

[pico]

i thought CC was going bankrupt 4 years ago. took them long enough

[20Four7]

DHL is apparently laying off 9,500 employees and closing some service centres. The end of the world approaches.

[Brock Landers]

I'm hoping it's wal mart, but that isn't going to happen.

LOL Walmart ios the strongest of the strong, they are thriving now more than ever

[CaneDawg]

LOL Walmart ios the strongest of the strong, they are thriving now more than ever

That is a fact.

[20Four7]

LOL Walmart ios the strongest of the strong, they are thriving now more than ever

I'm well aware of that I just hate this company and refuse to shop there.

[daggerkobe]

I don't understand how neo-cons always rail against welfare whores yet shop at Welfare-Mart. Their employees cost each state $100,000,000 in welfare every year.

So you saved 70¢ on that beer but it'll cost you way more in taxes to help pay for their employees' food stamps, housing, child care, etc.

I am glad that some cities have taken a stand and said NO to Welfare-Mart coming to their town.

[pico]

I don't understand how neo-cons always rail against welfare whores yet shop at Welfare-Mart. Their employees cost each state $100,000,000 in welfare every year.

So you saved 70¢ on that beer but it'll cost you way more in taxes to help pay for their employees' food stamps, housing, child care, etc.

I am glad that some cities have taken a stand and said NO to Welfare-Mart coming to their town.

i think you just made it up, but i get your point. that is a pretty smart business model...using gov subsidy as your competitive edge

[BestPlay2day]

Circuit City has been in trouble for a few years now. Amazing they made it this long. Best Buy kicks their ass here in MN. Don't think they will make it past 2009 the way the economy is.

[daggerkobe]

Your tax dollars pay for Wal-Mart's greed

• The estimated total amount of federal assistance for which Wal-Mart employees were eligible in 2004 was $2.5 billion. [The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce, 2/16/04]

• One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:

• • $36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.

• • $42,000 a year for low-income housing assistance.

• • $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families.

• • $100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.

• • $108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children's health insurance programs (S-CHIP)

• • $9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.

http://wakeupwalmart.com/facts/

[BestPlay2day]

Your tax dollars pay for Wal-Mart's greed

• The estimated total amount of federal assistance for which Wal-Mart employees were eligible in 2004 was $2.5 billion. [The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce, 2/16/04]

• One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:

• • $36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.

• • $42,000 a year for low-income housing assistance.

• • $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families.

• • $100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.

• • $108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children's health insurance programs (S-CHIP)

• • $9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.

http://wakeupwalmart.com/facts/

Chances are these employees would have a shit job at a different company so they only thing that can be pinned on Walmart is the health insurance which is still horrible for such a large Corporation. I haven't been in a Walmart for many years as I do most of my shopping at Target.

[pico]

so that is how they keep the price so low by mass producing cheap crap made by impoverished people, gov subsidized workers, and gov tax credits.

to be rich, you have to exploit people.

rich people are not well liked because they probably done some shady stuff to get rich. not easy to make money, and the laws make it even harder.

[daggerkobe]

Chances are, smaller stores treat their employees better and tax payers don't have foot the bill to support them. But Welfare-Mart moves in and squeezes them out.

Here's how a company SHOULD be run:

Analysts to Costco: Stop treating your employees so well

July 17, 2007 @ 8:15 am · Filed under Happy At Work, Leadership
You’d think that if a company treats its employees well (a lot better than their competitors) and gets great business results because of it, that this company and it executives would be celebrated and praised for it.
You’d be wrong.
The New York Times has a great article about Costco, the huge American chain of supermarkets who spend much more on their employees than their main competitors:

Costco’s average pay, for example, is $17 an hour, 42 percent higher than its fiercest rival, Sam’s Club. And Costco’s health plan makes those at many other retailers look Scroogish.

According to Costco’s CEO Jim Sinegal, this makes good business sense:

Good wages and benefits are why Costco has extremely low rates of turnover and theft by employees, he said. And Costco’s customers, who are more affluent than other warehouse store shoppers, stay loyal because they like that low prices do not come at the workers’ expense. “This is not altruistic,” he said. “This is good business.”

The results are pretty impressive:

Costco’s stock price has risen more than 10 percent in the last 12 months, while Wal-Mart’s has slipped 5 percent. Costco shares sell for almost 23 times expected earnings; at Wal-Mart the multiple is about 19.

http://positivesharing.com/2007/07/analysts-to-costco-stop-treating-your-employees-so-well/

It's shameful that the 4 Waltons (owners of Welfare-Mart) make the top 10 billionaires list each year, yet don't take of their own employees.

[pico]

i am going to shop at costco from now on.

[BestPlay2day]

Love Costco! With 4 kids we save enough to cover the membership fees just on milk alone. I remember 20/20 or dateline having a story on how Costco runs their business and treats their employees and customers right. It's the way other businesses should be run. Always find the best deals to fly to Vegas using Costco travel and their gas is always .05 to .10 cheaper than other gas stations.

[daggerkobe]

Been a Costco shopper since the 1980s when it was known as Price Club.

Always buy tires from there. Made a mistake of going to Pep ScamBoys, never again. With coupons, they are cheaper than Tirerack.com.

[THEGREAT30]

They all have bad customer service with Wal-Mart being the world leader, you can walk around the store for and hour with employees standing next to you and they dont ask "can I help you"? I dont know if MicroCenter is considered major but I can see them fadding soon, they have some pretty senseless policies anyway.

[Brock Landers]

Sams Club and Costco are the same thing right? We have Sams Club here and use it ALL the time

[daggerkobe]

Sam's Club is Welfare-Mart's imitation of Costco. So not the same thing.

[etothep]

I see PBS not getting enough public funding in the coming year or 2. Both their viewers will be sad

[UntilTheNDofTimE]

target has good service, but hey I work there

[JRS21386]

Did you know Wal-Mart alone accounts for 2% of the United States GDP in a fiscal year? Very impressive....

[Bluehorseshoe]

I was going to post Starbucks and then I found this article....



Starbucks 4Q profit drops 97 pct on closure costs
Monday November 10, 5:20 pm ET
By Lauren Shepherd, AP Business Writer
Starbucks 4th-quarter profit falls 97 percent on costs for closing stores, slow US sales

NEW YORK (AP) -- Fewer U.S. customers and venti-sized costs for closing poorly performing stores led to lower sales and profit in the fourth quarter at Starbucks Corp., the company said Monday.

Seattle-based Starbucks said profit fell 97 percent to $5.4 million, or a penny a share, from $158.5 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier. The coffee retailer earned 10 cents per share when the costs from closing about 600 stores in the U.S. and 61 locations in Australia are excluded.



Starbucks began shutting the U.S. and Australian stores this summer as part of a campaign to reverse slowing sales and falling profits at the company. That turnaround began at the start of the year when former Chief Executive Howard Schultz took back the reins of the company to again fill the CEO and chairman posts.

Besides closing the stores, Starbucks has cut more than 1,000 positions -- many of which were unfilled -- and introduced a slew of new products, including Vivanno smoothie drinks and breakfast pastries.

The company also replaced aging espresso makers and launched new single-cup Clover brewing machines in some markets.

But all the changes did little to boost sales in the fourth quarter, particularly in the U.S, where the turmoil in the economy during the summer months took a gulp out of consumer spending.

Revenue rose 3 percent to $2.52 billion from $2.44 billion. Analysts expected sales of $2.58 billion. Same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, dropped 8 percent in the U.S. as fewer customers came into the stores. Those that did also spent less, the company said. Same-store sales were flat overseas.

Despite the sales slowdown, Schultz said the company was doing what it needed to get back on track.

"We appear to be more resilient than many other premium brands," Schultz said in a statement. "And while we cannot call isolated signs of improving sales a trend, we are encouraged by our ability to drive increased traffic at a relatively low cost, as we did on Election Day" when the company offered customers a free "tall" drip coffee.

For the 2008 fiscal year, Starbucks earned $315.5 million, or 43 cents per share, down from $672.6 million, or 87 cents per share, in 2007. Revenue rose to $10.38 billion from $9.41 billion.

Starbucks said it expects 2009 profit excluding one-time costs between 71 cents and 90 cents per share depending on how steeply same-store sales decline during the year. Analysts predict profit of 87 cents per share for the year.

The company also said it will open about 700 net new stores overseas during the fiscal 2009 year. In the U.S., the company said it will close about 225 stores and open 205 new ones.

Shares fell 13 cents to $10.07 in electronic after-hours trading after dipping 35 cents, or 3.3 percent, to close at $10.20.

[EBSB52]

I don't understand how neo-cons always rail against welfare whores yet shop at Welfare-Mart. Their employees cost each state $100,000,000 in welfare every year.

So you saved 70¢ on that beer but it'll cost you way more in taxes to help pay for their employees' food stamps, housing, child care, etc.

I am glad that some cities have taken a stand and said NO to Welfare-Mart coming to their town.

It couldn't be that neo-cons are hypocrites.

[andywend]

Left-wing lunatics like EBSB52 and DaggerKobe bash WalMart for one reason and one reason only:

WALMART REFUSES TO HIRE UNION LABOR.

All of the savings that result from not dealing with unions is passed right to the consumer in the form of lower prices. This is the driving force behind WalMart's success and explains why WalMart's market cap is 10X higher than that of Target.

I can easily afford to pay Target's higher prices but I'm proud to say I haven't stepped foot in a Target store in over 5 years.

Look at what the unions have done to Ford and General Motors. These blue chip companies can no longer compete on a global scale and now they are whining and screeching for a government bailout at taxpayer expense. Both F and GM have been bleeding cash long before the financial meltdown ever started.

I challenge any liberal nutcase to name one company that relies solely on union labor that competes strongly with other companies in the same sector that don't. UNIONS and DEMOCRATS are an ABSOLUTE cancer to this great country.

[wtf]

blame ford and gm on the unions!!! wow, if i am not mistaken bmw, mercedes, etc are all union shops.

ford-gm have been ripping off americans for decades selling disposable garbage.

if they are bailed out they will just continue to make cars NOBODY WANTS TO BUY.

time to pay the piper.

[EBSB52]

Left-wing lunatics like EBSB52 and DaggerKobe bash WalMart for one reason and one reason only:

WALMART REFUSES TO HIRE UNION LABOR.

All of the savings that result from not dealing with unions is passed right to the consumer in the form of lower prices. This is the driving force behind WalMart's success and explains why WalMart's market cap is 10X higher than that of Target.

I can easily afford to pay Target's higher prices but I'm proud to say I haven't stepped foot in a Target store in over 5 years.

Look at what the unions have done to Ford and General Motors. These blue chip companies can no longer compete on a global scale and now they are whining and screeching for a government bailout at taxpayer expense. Both F and GM have been bleeding cash long before the financial meltdown ever started.

I challenge any liberal nutcase to name one company that relies solely on union labor that competes strongly with other companies in the same sector that don't. UNIONS and DEMOCRATS are an ABSOLUTE cancer to this great country.

And right wing trash like Andywend claim I have bashed Walmart when I have not.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>UNIONS and DEMOCRATS are an ABSOLUTE cancer to this great country.

Instead of avoiding like most cowardly Repukes, address why we are here:

http://www.lafn.org/gvdc/Natl_Debt_Chart.html

Try not to use general language like, "too much welfare" and other idiocy. Try to use contrast and comparison with aother nations or any kind of cogent comparison/contrast...... bye, this is where you run away.

Neo-con trash like Reagan, Bush, Bush have ****ed this country into the ground and there is really no way around that, unless you say all these recent messes we've undergone are good and 10.5 T debt is good.

[daggerkobe]

Left-wing lunatics like EBSB52 and DaggerKobe bash WalMart for one reason and one reason only:

WALMART REFUSES TO HIRE UNION LABOR.

All of the savings that result from not dealing with unions is passed right to the consumer in the form of lower prices. This is the driving force behind WalMart's success and explains why WalMart's market cap is 10X higher than that of Target.

I can easily afford to pay Target's higher prices but I'm proud to say I haven't stepped foot in a Target store in over 5 years.

Look at what the unions have done to Ford and General Motors. These blue chip companies can no longer compete on a global scale and now they are whining and screeching for a government bailout at taxpayer expense. Both F and GM have been bleeding cash long before the financial meltdown ever started.

I challenge any liberal nutcase to name one company that relies solely on union labor that competes strongly with other companies in the same sector that don't. UNIONS and DEMOCRATS are an ABSOLUTE cancer to this great country.

I support Costco..... only 18% union.
I support Honda...... not a union.
I support Toyota..... not a union.

So what does that say about your ignorant theory about me?

I don't support Welfare-Mart because THEY REFUSE TO PAY LIVING WAGES TO THEIR EMPLOYEES INSTEAD ENCOURAGES THEM TO APPLY FOR STATE WELFARE WHICH IS COSTING EACH STATE & ITS TAX PAYERS $100 MILLION EACH YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

Who do you blame for athletes making $20-30 million a year.... athletes or owners? They wouldn't be making such outrageous salaries had the owners not doled them out. Same shit with GM, FORD & Chrysler.... they gave them out... so why blame the union?

If not for unions, you would have to go in your adult diaper because bathroom breaks would not be allowed; you'd have to go without food while you worked; you'd be working for pennies during your 18 hour shift; and you can forget about overtime and paid vacations. So show some gratitude to unions, you stupid fvck.

[EBSB52]

I support Costco..... only 18% union.
I support Honda...... not a union.
I support Toyota..... not a union.

So what does that say about your ignorant theory about me?

I don't support Welfare-Mart because THEY REFUSE TO PAY LIVING WAGES TO THEIR EMPLOYEES INSTEAD ENCOURAGES THEM TO APPLY FOR STATE WELFARE WHICH IS COSTING EACH STATE & ITS TAX PAYERS $100 MILLION EACH YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

Who do you blame for athletes making $20-30 million a year.... athletes or owners? They wouldn't be making such outrageous salaries had the owners not doled them out. Same shit with GM, FORD & Chrysler.... they gave them out... so why blame the union?

If not for unions, you would have to go in your adult diaper because bathroom breaks would not be allowed; you'd have to go without food while you worked; you'd be working for pennies during your 18 hour shift; and you can forget about overtime and paid vacations. So show some gratitude to unions, you stupid fvck.

Exactly. I don't like Walmart for idientical reasons. As well, I believe it was them who tried to use Bush's Overtime Law as a way to give employees a fancy title and require unpaid overtime. Great angle with the Walmart creating welfare, a wat to get the gov to share part of the wage that Walmart s/b paying.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Who do you blame for athletes making $20-30 million a year.... athletes or owners? They wouldn't be making such outrageous salaries had the owners not doled them out.


That's basic American capitalistic competiton, IOW's our current failed system.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>If not for unions, you would have to go in your adult diaper because bathroom breaks would not be allowed; you'd have to go without food while you worked; you'd be working for pennies during your 18 hour shift; and you can forget about overtime and paid vacations. So show some gratitude to unions, you stupid fvck.


Basically research life before FDR's 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. People illustrate their uneducted state by taking for granted employment laws.

[Boner_18]

I could see Citi hitting the skids. They still have some toxic shit on their sheet, Pandit is disliked by the board (or at least a faction) and from what I hear from employees there tension is in the air.

The equity is in the dumper and doesn't even pop when the rest of the market does which shows the likelihood that institutional investors are unloading on any uptick.