Circuit City Stores - Real Estate Holdings

Real Estate Holdings

Due to the expansion of Circuit City stores in the 1970s-1990s, the company accumulated a surplus of unused real estate with a presence in nearly every major market in the country. Although a typical retail location is approximately 30,000 square feet (2700 m²), the company had numerous freestanding and in-line locations ranging from 2,000 to 50,000 square feet (180 to 4500 m²), and also surplus office, service and distribution locations scattered across the country. During Circuit City's 2005 fiscal year (March 1, 2004 through February 28, 2005), the company disposed of approximately 1.2 million square feet (108,000 m²) of vacant retail space. In January 2007, Circuit City's vice president for real estate announced plans to open 200–300 stores in the next two years, a large increase from the current trend of 10–12 stores a year. Due to the economic conditions the company faced, they did not reach that goal. Many of these stores, however, did open in 2008 and operated for only a few weeks before closing. Some were built and never opened and upon the company's declaration of bankruptcy, it was discovered that large expenditures were due to paying leases on buildings that were not even opened to the public.