Local residents disappointed with Circuit City store's closure

Friday, Jan. 16, 2009
Local residents disappointed with Circuit City store's closure
Tonya Strickland and Nick Wilson

Electronics Stores

Several customers at the Circuit City off Los Osos Valley Road in San Luis Obispo said they were disappointed with the news of the store’s liquidation plan.

Many said they view Circuit City as another option to find the best deals among local electronics stores – which also include Best Buy and Radio Shack.

But some customers also admitted to shopping online on Web sites such as Amazon.com and say that giving their business to Internet companies likely has contributed to the closures of Circuit City stores.

“I do shop for electronics on the Internet,” said Earl Sally, a Paso Robles resident searching for a subwoofer Friday. “But it’s also disappointing to see this store go out of business. It’s one less option.”

A Long Beach State University student whose parents live in the county said that she bought a camera for her father for Christmas at Circuit City and lamented the fact that many stores are going out of business.

“It’s sad,” said Sarah Contreras, 23. “I don’t shop here that much, but just that it’s going out of business is disappointing, especially with Linens-N-Things going out too.”

San Luis Obispo resident Mickey Wallwork said he came to the store Friday to make sure his wireless router was still set to be installed by Circuit City staff. Wallwork said he was told by employees that the work would be completed as planned.

A manager of the store said he wasn’t allowed to answer any questions from the media and referred inquiries to the store’s corporate office. It’s unclear how many employees the store has.

An e-mail sent by The Tribune to Circuit City’s public relations department went unreturned Friday.