Circuit City is Back, Sorta

The Circuit City site is now back online and selling electronics. Unfortunately, it’s not the same Circuit City we once knew.

The relaunch of the Circuit City has raised the hopes of those who used to frequent the store back before it closed shop. Is it possible we’ll see brick and mortar Circuit Cities again sometime? In short, don’t bet on it.

On May 19 the Circuit City brand and website was purchased by Systemax Inc., the company responsible for etailers like Tiger Direct, CompUSA, and Misco. For a cool $14 million, Systemax acquired certain trademarks, trade names, domains, customer lists and information, and “other intangible assets of Circuit City's e-commerce business.” The Bankruptcy Court issued its order approving the transaction on May 15, 2009 following a public auction conducted on May 11, 2009.

In addition to the purchase price of $14 million, Systemax also agreed to hand over a share of future revenue generated over a 30-month period. According to the press release, which simultaneously announced the acquisition and relaunch, the minimum future revenue guaranteed to Circuit City is $3 million.

So this isn’t a resurrection of Circuit City. Sniff.

Hat tip goes to ChaosGS4.