The rise and fall of Circuit City is a fascinating tale full of ups and downs, when one Company paved the path and dominated the consumer electronics market only to perish after almost 6 decades.
From having the largest selections, the best prices, and the brightest talent, Circuit City went from an all-American retail success story to one of the greatest failures in corporate history. Find out how on The Great Fail, Episode 42.
Episode Sources
Eight Reasons Why Circuit City Went Bankrupt
Why Circuit City Busted, While Best Buy Boomed
The Rise and Fall of Circuit City
A Timeless Lesson Of Circuit City’s Bankruptcy: Solve The Right Problem
‘Undead’ Circuit City Won’t Rise If It Forgets What Killed It
Why Circuit City Failed, and Why B&H Thrives
What happened to Circuit City?
The Rise and Fall of Circuit City
Circuit City’s Problems Go Beyond Economy
Lessons From the Death of Circuit City
Circuit City execs killed the company
The Rise and Fall of Circuit City
Special Guest
Alan Wurtzel
Alan Wurtzel is an American businessman, author, speaker, and philanthropist. He spent 13 years as CEO of Circuit City before retiring in 1986. He now acts as trustee for the Phillips Collection and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Wurtzel received a B.A. from Oberlin College and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He joined Circuit City in 1966 as Vice President of Legal Affairs and then was CEO from 1972 to 1986. He was Chairman of the Board from 1984 to 1994 and Vice-Chairman from 1994 to 2001. Under his leadership, the company grew to be the best performing Fortune 500 Company for any fifteen-year period between 1965 and 1995
Wurtzel was Director of Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., retiring from the board in 2009, and from 1989 to 1996, was on the Board of Office Depot. He has been an active investor in startup companies and remains on the Board of two privately held companies.
On October 9, 2012, Wurtzel released his book on the history of Circuit City, Good to Great to Gone.