Circuit City Ready to Plug In to S.D. Market at Loma Square
Circuit City Stores, the aggressive nationwide consumer electronics chain, is apparently set to launch its long-awaited invasion of the San Diego marketplace.
Sources on Monday said the Richmond, Va.-based retailer is close to signing a lease to occupy a 36,000-square-foot store in the Loma Square retail center at the intersection of Midway Drive and Rosecrans Street.
“A final lease is out for signature. All that’s left is dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. They’ll occupy in March of 1989,” said one source, who added that the chain is considering at least three other San Diego-area sites for additional stores.
Circuit City has grown quickly over the past several years, reporting sales of more than $1.3 billion for the fiscal year ended in February, up 34% from the previous year.
At the end of its fiscal year, Circuit City operated 105 stores nationwide, making it the largest specialty retailer of brand-name consumer electronics. Products sold include audio and video equipment as well as microwave ovens and major appliances. The chain operates stores in 11 states besides California.
If Circuit City’s past performance is a guide, the chain will open several stores in the San Diego market simultaneously in order to spread promotional costs of broadcast and newspaper advertising over a broader base of stores. Circuit City’s entry into the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles markets followed similar patterns.
“One full-page newspaper ad costs the same, whether you’re opening one store or a dozen,” a Circuit City executive said.
