Slidell Circuit City to close its doors soon

Due to the ongoing economic crisis and low sales figures, the electronics chain Circuit City announced Monday it is closing 155 stores nationwide, including the store in Slidell on Airport Road.

In a statement released by Circuit City, CEO James A. Marcum said, “The weakened economic environment has resulted in a slowdown of consumer spending, further impacting our business as well as the business of our vendors.”

He said the combination of low sales, lack of liquid assets and a worsening economy has forced his company to make “difficult but necessary decisions.”

The Circuit City on Airport Road closed Tuesday and reopened Wednesday with a huge sale of 10 percent discounts on electronics and a 20 percent discount on all music and movies.

The store’s manager would not answer any questions about the closing and was referring all questions to the corporate headquarters in Virginia.

Jennifer Sills, Circuit City public relations representative at corporate headquarters, said the company was not granting any interviews on the store closures. When asked how many people would be laid off because of the closures, Sills would only say the closures would affect 17 percent of the company’s current workforce.

“This is the only figure we are giving out, and we are not breaking out any local or regional head counts,” Sills said.

However, an employee at the Slidell Circuit City estimated the store has between 30 and 40 workers.

The employee said all workers were given a bonus of an extra 76 cents an hour to stay until the store closes.

The Slidell Circuit City will remain open until they have sold a certain percentage of the remaining inventory.

The closing of the Slidell Circuit City leaves only the Circuit City in Covington on U.S. Highway 190 to serve St. Tammany Parish.

In all, the company is closing four Circuit City stores in Louisiana.

Along with the Slidell location, stores in Kenner, Marrero and Baton Rouge are closing. The Covington location, and Circuit City stores in Harvey and Metairie will remain open in the metro area.