Communicating Change
Change Plan: Circuit City
Kara Burke
Keller Graduate School of Management
One major change that took place in the Circuit City organization was its bankruptcy and liquidation of its assets. I was unable to find any communications that occurred within the organization, much less externally to stakeholders. What I was able to find were many news communication pieces from third parties. The communications highlighted all the stages of this change, from the announcement of bankruptcy filing to the eventual shutdown of the company before reestablishing itself online via its purchaser Systemax. The initial communication about bankruptcy included a restructuring of the company with turnaround specialists while James Marcum acted as interim CEO (Bloomberg L.P., 2008). This said change communicated to Circuit City’s stakeholders that although the organization was in a downfall it was working to pick itself back up and create a turnaround season. This not only gave stakeholders hope but people within the organization also. Later communication pieces stated the continued decline of the company as well as lay-offs and the ongoing closure of stores. The last outside communication regarding the change process stated that Systemax agreed to purchase the brand, trademarks, and e-commerce business in 2009 (UBM Channel, 2009). Circuit City communicated these changes to its customers, the most important stakeholders through media, advertising its clearance and liquidations. The only communication to stakeholders I could find was on the website when it was re-launched by Systemax in late 2009. The communication is located under the About link on the company website. It states that “On May 19, 2009, selected assets of Circuit City, Inc. were sold to Systemax Inc., including intellectual property (trademarks, patents, etc.), domain names, customer lists, contact information, other customer basic information and other assets,” (CircuitCity.com Inc., 2011). The piece further
Kara Burke
Keller Graduate School of Management
One major change that took place in the Circuit City organization was its bankruptcy and liquidation of its assets. I was unable to find any communications that occurred within the organization, much less externally to stakeholders. What I was able to find were many news communication pieces from third parties. The communications highlighted all the stages of this change, from the announcement of bankruptcy filing to the eventual shutdown of the company before reestablishing itself online via its purchaser Systemax. The initial communication about bankruptcy included a restructuring of the company with turnaround specialists while James Marcum acted as interim CEO (Bloomberg L.P., 2008). This said change communicated to Circuit City’s stakeholders that although the organization was in a downfall it was working to pick itself back up and create a turnaround season. This not only gave stakeholders hope but people within the organization also. Later communication pieces stated the continued decline of the company as well as lay-offs and the ongoing closure of stores. The last outside communication regarding the change process stated that Systemax agreed to purchase the brand, trademarks, and e-commerce business in 2009 (UBM Channel, 2009). Circuit City communicated these changes to its customers, the most important stakeholders through media, advertising its clearance and liquidations. The only communication to stakeholders I could find was on the website when it was re-launched by Systemax in late 2009. The communication is located under the About link on the company website. It states that “On May 19, 2009, selected assets of Circuit City, Inc. were sold to Systemax Inc., including intellectual property (trademarks, patents, etc.), domain names, customer lists, contact information, other customer basic information and other assets,” (CircuitCity.com Inc., 2011). The piece further
Cited: Bloomberg L.P. Circuit City Files Bankruptcy.(2008). Retreived June 3, 2012 from http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/nov2008/db20081110_944572.htm CircuitCity.com Inc.(2011). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved June 6, 2012 from http://www.circuitcity.com/sectors/help/faqCC.asp UBM Channel.(2009) Systemax Agrees to Purchase Circuit City Assets. Retrieved June 6, 2012 from http://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/216500426/systemax-agrees-to-purchase-circuit-city-assets.htm