Ben Dejo

Circuit City's Shares: No Different Than a Lottery Ticket

On Sep 23 03:54 PM User 268036 wrote:

> Circuit City is not much different than any other publicly traded
> company operating in today’s hostile market environment. As far as
> I’m aware, they made a very prudent move by firing high cost commissioned
> sales reps and replaced them with lower cost employees.

Wha... Do you have any idea what you are talking about?

First off they didn't fire all of their commissioned staff, they did retain a good deal of it, when "Soon Over" decided that as hourly staff they still made too much, did the entire problem really begin. By wiping out the most experienced 10% of your staff at once ( unlike Best Buy who does the same thing, but more gradually so the accumulated experience isn't lost as a big shock), close rates fall off, people have a "bad" perception of your company, and employee motivation to do well all go out the window. Maybe that's why the Home entertainment division is now paid base PLUS a group commission.


On Sep 23 03:54 PM User 268036 wrote:

> As far as
> I’m aware, circuit has some of the best web based training available
> for sales reps and it doesn’t take much time to get them up to speed.

Circuit City digital training is a joke. As a current sales rep who managed to survive "Phil" I can tell you that no amount of "digital" training is ever as useful as getting the right people who want to sell and are not afraid of customers. Sales skills are taught one on one with role playing, repetition, and reinforcement of successful behaviors, not watching a badly made shockwave presentation with a rented Lenovo. Product knowledge is more effectively served by spending about an hour each day going through the "trade" magazines like Wired, Engadget, Gizmodo, DP Review, et cetera to learn about product.

> Circuit City is a much better run company than it’s competitor but
> they are only a casualty of negative public perception.

You are really "Flogging" here, I would think that looking at the comparable quarterly statement released by both companies in the past year would say differently.

> I’m sure that most stock holders have seen volatility through most sectors
> and many stock values are based strictly on Wall Street emotions
> instead of facts. As far as I’m aware, most company stocks as of
> today isn’t too much better than the purchase of a lottery ticket
> but as it pertains to Circuit City, I say that it’s a matter of patience.
> This company will be fully restored and be made whole again. My suggestion
> is to buy as much as you can afford and watch your money grow by
> 10+ fold.

I could put that money into an FDIC insured passbook savings account and get a 10 fold increase, and I'm willing to bet it would be more likely to happen with the passbook savings, and much faster.