Circuit City has outstandingly awful Q1 Circuit City had a crap first quarter, losing $54.6m, against net income of $6.4m same time last year. Net sales fell 4.3 per cent, driven by a comparable store sales decline of 5.6 per cent. Gross profit margins fell 1.9 per cent on lower merchandise margins and lower take-up of extended warranties. The electronics retailing …
When I read about their intention to fire "overpaid" employees and replace them with lower-wage workers, I decided that the called-upon boycott was justified.
I'm sure the fact that I did not buy a 60" set from them didn't kill their quarter (actually I didn't buy one from any of their competitors either ..) but I hope some of their woes are caused by average working joes choosing not to support a company with such policies.
I wonder what kind of bonuses the EXECs brought home ....
The thing is that by paying peanuts to monkeys the chances that potential customers will be amused by the inadequacy of their knowledge and service is not something to be counted on.
So effectively they're heading in an ever-decreasing circle of fewer customers, lower profits (higher deficits), firing more employees, lowering customer service - which means fewer customers, higher deficits, firing more employees...
They're bolloxed if they continue on this path, I guarantee it.
It's not that CompUSA or Best Buy employee geniuses, but if they pay better money, they'll get first choice from the type of employees that work in those stores. Thus leaving Circuit City with the unenviable position of having to employ from a pool of workers that these two decided weren't good enough.
Imagine that - you are basically stuck with people that Best Buy, or even worse CompUSA, decided weren't good enough.
If you've ever been in a CompUSA store (more of less the same caliber of employee as PC World / Dixons) then you'll be equally horrified at a Circuit City store manager's conundrum.
RIP Circuit City - unless they get someone in charge who realises crap employees are not the way to entice customers back into your stores.
I haven't shopped at Circuit City since they tried to foist the bastard creation that was DIVX (the original DIVX, not what we all know and love now) on the unsuspecting public in the late 90s.
I wasn't aware of the mass firings but the staff seem to have got even more knuckle-dragging recently so it all makes sense now...
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