Electronics

Circuit City began as Wards Company, a Richmond TV and appliance retailer, in 1949, and grew into a leading big-box consumer-electronics chain known for its red 'plug' logo and commission sales floor. It spun off the used-car superstore CarMax in the 1990s. A series of missteps — including laying off its highest-paid sales staff during a downturn — and pressure from Best Buy and online sellers pushed it into bankruptcy, and Circuit City liquidated its stores in 2009.

CompUSA was the country's leading computer superstore through the 1990s, with warehouse-sized floors of PCs, software, printers, and peripherals plus an in-store service department, drawing tech shoppers before the web took over. As prices collapsed and online sellers and big-box rivals moved in, CompUSA's model faltered. Most stores closed in 2007, the brand was bought by electronics retailer TigerDirect, and the last CompUSA locations were gone by 2012.

Crazy Eddie was a New York–area consumer-electronics chain made famous by manic radio and TV ads in which a frantic pitchman screamed that 'his prices are INSAAANE!' Behind the showmanship, the Antar family ran one of the era's most notorious frauds — skimming cash, then inflating inventory and sales to pump up the stock after going public. The scheme unraveled in the late 1980s, the company collapsed in 1989, and its executives were prosecuted in a case still taught in accounting classes.

Lechmere started as a Cambridge, Massachusetts tire and radio shop and grew into a New England chain selling electronics, appliances, and housewares, anchored by its landmark store at Lechmere Square. Famous for green-stamp promotions and a wide selection, it was a go-to for stereos and TVs across the region. Sold to Montgomery Ward in the 1990s and folded into its electronics concept, Lechmere was liquidated in 1997.

Founded by the Jemal family, 'Nobody Beats the Wiz' was a New York–area electronics chain known for low prices, a deep music selection, and one of the most relentless ad jingles in regional broadcasting. It expanded aggressively in the 1990s, filed for bankruptcy, and was bought by Cablevision, which shortened the name to 'The Wiz.' Unable to compete with Best Buy and Circuit City, the remaining stores closed in 2003.

RadioShack began as a Boston supplier for ham-radio hobbyists and, under the Tandy Corporation, grew into a ubiquitous strip-mall fixture for batteries, cables, components, and gadgets. It was an early personal-computer pioneer with the TRS-80 and was famous — and later mocked — for clerks who asked for your name and address at checkout. Battered by big-box and online competition and a confused strategy, the chain filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and again in 2017, shrinking to an online brand and scattered dealers.