Circuit City - #1

In early 1949 Samuel Wurtzel was on vacation in Richmond, Virginia when, while at a local barber shop, he was witness to the start of television in the South. Imagining the opportunities, in late 1949, he moved his family to Richmond and opened the first Wards Company retail store. Later, Abraham L. Hecht joined him as a partner in the business.

By 1959, Wards Company operated four television and home appliance stores in Richmond. The company continued to grow and acquired stores in other locations including Albany, New York; Mobile, Alabama; Washington, D.C.; and Costa Mesa, California. During the 1970s and early 1980s, it also sold mail-order under the name "Dixie Hi Fi", advertising in hi-fi magazines. Wards experimented with several retail formats in Richmond, including smaller mall outlets branded "Sight-n-Sound" and "Circuit City". (Wikipedia)

Wards Company changed its name to Circuit City in 1984. In 2000. One of the other Nostalgic Retailers on the list, Blockbuster, bid for Circuit City in 2008, but withdrew its bid due to the changing market conditions.

In 2008, Circuity City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Unable to emerge from Chapter 11, Circuit City closed its doors in March of 2009. That same year, Systemax, Inc purchased the Circuit City assets.

Circuit City Corporation revived the brand: Established by Ronny Shmoel in 2016 as part of his acquisition of the brand name and trademark rights sold by Systemax, which formerly operated the CircuitCity.com website from 2009 until 2012, when it was consolidated into the TigerDirect brand. (Wikipedia)

In 2018, the brand re-launched online with reports that it was going to re-open brick and mortar locations, but that never materialized. In 2023, the effort turned to establishing store-within-a-store alliances using “Powered by Circuit City.” As of now, plans seem to be in limbo.