A Tale of Two Cities: The Circuit City Story

In 1949, a young entrepreneur named Sam Wurtzel opened a small TV shop in Richmond, VA. Over the next four decades, Sam and his son Alan grew the family business into the nation's largest name-brand specialty electronics retailer. In early 2009, after 60 years in business, the company spiraled into oblivion, destroying life-long careers and dreams of secure futures. How and why did it happen? 'A Tale of Two Cities: The Circuit City Story' is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of associates who built Circuit City into a retail powerhouse, only to watch it descend into bankruptcy and liquidation. The documentary tells a tale of two 'Cities' -- one that went from good to great, and another that went from great to gone. In 1949, a young entrepreneur named Sam Wurtzel opened a small TV shop in Richmond, VA. Over the next four decades, Sam and his son Alan grew the family business into the nation's largest name-brand specialty electronics retailer. In early 2009, after 60 years in business, the company spiraled into oblivion, destroying life-long careers and dreams of secure futures. How and why did it happen? 'A Tale of Two Cities: The Circuit City Story' is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of associates who built Circuit City into a retail powerhouse, only to watch it descend into bankruptcy and liquidation. The documentary tells a tale of two 'Cities' -- one that went from good to great, and another that went from great to gone. In 1949, a young entrepreneur named Sam Wurtzel opened a small TV shop in Richmond, VA. Over the next four decades, Sam and his son Alan grew the family business into the nation's largest name-brand specialty electronics retailer. In early 2009, after 60 years in business, the company spiraled into oblivion, destroying life-long careers and dreams of secure futures. How and why did it happen? 'A Tale of Two Cities: The Circuit City Story' is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of associates who built Circuit City into a retail powerhouse, only to watch it descend into bankruptcy and liquidation. The documentary tells a tale of two 'Cities' -- one that went from good to great, and another that went from great to gone. In 1949, a young entrepreneur named Sam Wurtzel opened a small TV shop in Richmond, VA. Over the next four decades, Sam and his son Alan grew the family business into the nation's largest name-brand specialty electronics retailer. In early 2009, after 60 years in business, the company spiraled into oblivion, destroying life-long careers and dreams of secure futures. How and why did it happen? 'A Tale of Two Cities: The Circuit City Story' is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of associates who built Circuit City into a retail powerhouse, only to watch it descend into bankruptcy and liquidation. The documentary tells a tale of two 'Cities' -- one that went from good to great, and another that went from great to gone.