Silo Closes 6 Stores in Southland : Retail: Intense competition among electronics stores and a weak economy have squeezed profit.

Silo, a Philadelphia-based consumer electronics retailer, has closed six of its Southland stores, but the company refused to comment on reports that it plans to close its nine remaining stores in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties.

The company also has 11 stores in San Diego County, but Silo spokesman Michael Randels said those stores will stay open.

Silo this week closed its stores in Burbank, Montebello and Fullerton and last week shut down its locations in Long Beach, Cerritos and Mission Viejo. Some local Silo employees said the company informed them that it plans to close the other nine stores and that the company will announce closings later this month.

“We’ve heard those reports too, but we won’t be making any announcements about those stores,” Randels said. “We don’t want our competitors to know what we’ll be doing. For the time being, those stores will remain open.”

Randels acknowledged that the inventory at some of the remaining stores is dwindling.

Two of the stores are in Los Angeles, and the others are in Temple City, Canoga Park, San Dimas, Torrance, Westminster, Santa Ana and Ventura.

Industry analysts said Silo has struggled in the Los Angeles area because of strong competition and a relatively weak economy.

“Consumer electronics is increasingly competitive, and there’s a profit margin squeeze,” said Monroe Greenstein, an analyst at Lazard Freres in New York. “Also, Los Angeles is the weakest major market in California.”

Sears and Circuit City have been Silo’s biggest competitors in Los Angeles, Greenstein said. Circuit City last week escalated the price war among consumer electronics retailers by announcing plans to slash prices and boost promotions nationwide.

Silo recently closed some stores in St. Louis.

Randels said customers who purchased products from Silo stores that have since closed are receiving service from nearby companies that have repair contracts with the retailer.

Times staff writer Christina Lima in Ventura contributed to this report.