Systemax, the new owner of the Circuit City brand name, has said the company will remain an online-only business for the time being, with the computer maker showing no signs of re-opening brick and mortar stores.
“It’s too soon to say whether Circuit City stores will appear,” adds Gilbert Fiorentino, chief executive of Systemax’s technology products group. “We’ve only owned it for two weeks, and we haven’t figured out what to do with it yet.”
Systemax currently has 29 CompUSA-branded brick-and-mortar stores. “We’re looking at additional real estate,” says Fiorentino however. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime.”
The company acquired the name and branding for CompUSA and TigerDirect over the last year as the companies went bankrupt.
Result for: circuit city
Last month we reported that the PC retailer Systemax, which has recently purchased Tiger Direct and CompUSA, was planning to buy the Circuit City name, brand and website, for $14 million USD.
The company has now completed the aquisition and has already revised and relaunched the Circuit City website. You can read more about the site, from the Systemax CEO here: Circuit City relaunch.
The new site has 24/7 customer service, more advanced search functions and more importantly photo and video galleries for every product in the store.
Along with the purchase of the website domain and all branding, Systemax was given “customer lists and information” and a “share of revenue generated over the next 30 months.”
Result for: circuit city
The PC retailer Systemax, which recently purchased Tiger Direct and CompUSA, is planning to buy the Circuit City name and brand, and is willing to pay up to $6.5 million USD for it. With the acquisition, Systemax also gets to run the Circuit City website.
Systemax has recently restarted 30 CompUSA retail outlets, with promises that demo units will be less restricted than retail rivals such as Best Buy, including free Internet on all display units.
The company is hoping to gain retail position while taking advantage of the bad management of other companies, which has been elevated by the ongoing global economic recession.
