Circuit City has lesson on economy

By: Michael Paul Williams | Times-Dispatch
Published: January 22, 2009

And now, back down to Earth.

Anyone looking for a reality check in the aftermath of the inaugural pomp might head over to the Circuit City store at Broad Street and Gaskins Road in Henrico County.

A yellow-and-black "Going Out of Business" banner festooned the building yesterday as customers trickled in and out, often leaving empty-handed.

One of those folks was Thomas J. Bliley Jr., the retired congressman and former Richmond mayor. He administered what could have been last rites to a retail establishment that was born in Richmond and apparently will die here.

"In business, [former Chrysler CEO] Lee Iacocca said it better than anyone: 'You either lead, you follow or you get out of the way,'" Bliley said. "I think they made some bad decisions, and a company called Best Buy came along and ate their lunch."

. . .

Inside the store, a 1990s-era NBA playoff game played on a 40-inch Sony (on sale for $1,169.99) and included old-school basketball stars Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone. This flashback to Circuit City's heyday made the atmosphere even more wistful.

Bliley expressed sadness for the Circuit City employees who will be losing their jobs. And indeed, thousands of local economic casualties have spilled onto our news pages.

As Obama said in his inauguration speech: "Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age."

Circuit City's critics would nod agreement at that indictment. It was too quick to dump its appliances and too languid in responding to changes in technology. The company also was too slow to promote black employees, as evidenced by a discrimination lawsuit it lost.

But I recall when Ward's Loading Dock, the adolescent that blossomed into Circuit City, was essential shopping for high-fidelity lovers like myself. Few things quickened the pulse of a 1970s-era young man like a storeroom full of tuners, turntables and tweeters.

I'm nostalgic for the truly local company, before Circuit City took its act to Wall Street. Companies are simply becoming too big for their own good and for the economy's.

. . .

Marshall Britt wasn't mourning Circuit City as he searched for liquidation deals. "To me, it was too high. . . . It's still too high." He concluded he could find a better price on a DVD recorder at Wal-Mart.

And therein lies another challenge: Think twice before supporting companies like Wal-Mart, with a good deal of its merchandise being inexpensive goods produced by cheap labor and sold by low-wage workers with poor benefits.

"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility," Obama said in his speech. Corporations must restore trust. Consumers must be willing to punish those who don't, and make choices, when financially possible, that take more than price into consideration.

That's the new reality if we're going to turn this thing around. Business as usual is not an option.

Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or mwilliams@timesdispatch.com.