Circuit City name might survive

The Circuit City name could live on after the retailer closes its last store at the end of March.

The Hilco Organization, an Illinois-based retail consulting and liquidation firm which liquidated 154 Circuit City stores late last year, is trying to buy the Henrico County-based retailer's brand, including its name and Web site.

Richard L. Kaye, Hilco's executive vice president, would not say what the company would do if it buys the name.

Other buyers could emerge. A federal bankruptcy court judge would have to approve any sale of the name.

Circuit City has the right to sell its name, trademarks, domain and intellectual property to raise money to pay off debts, spokesman Bill Cimino said.

Hilco, in partnership with liquidator Gordon Bros. Brands LLC, this month bought the intellectual-property assets of bankrupt retailer Linens 'N Things, including its Web site and bridal and gift registry.

Circuit City, as it currently exists, would still disappear even if the name is sold. But a new buyer could use the name as it wants.

This End Up, the former Richmond-based retailer that pioneered crate-style furniture, sold its name, customer lists and product designs for $1 million in late 2000 to a turnaround specialist after the chain filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its stores.

Two years later, a Web site was created bearing the This End Up name, and a store opened in North Carolina in 2005.

Tom Arnold, a professor of finance at the University of Richmond's Robins School of Business, said a buyer could keep the company operating on a much smaller basis.

"A buyer could choose to open new or existing stores, but it would be as an entirely new entity using the old name," he said.

One option is to keep Circuit City operating only online, which gives the new owner the "ability to sell merchandise under an already recognizable name," he said.

David Urban, a professor of marketing at Virginia Commonwealth University, said new owners could improve the shopping experience by providing chat rooms for customers to discuss their purchases or a place online to talk to customer-service representatives.

"A lot of people who are going to buy electronics on a Web site are price-driven, self-sufficient customers who don't need a lot of hand-holding," Urban said.

Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in November. After failing to find a buyer or capital to keep operating, the company was forced last month to liquidate its stores and lay off 34,000 domestic employees.

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or .