Circuit City loss widens; company reviews business

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. said Monday that its quarterly loss widened, hurt by charges to write down the value of its fixed assets and a significant decline in traffic that led to worse than expected sales.

The company withdrew its previous fiscal 2009 outlook as it said it's reviewing all aspects of the business ahead of the holiday season, its biggest selling period.

Circuit City shares fell 11% in pre-market trading.

Net loss widened to $239.2 million, or $1.45 a share, from $62.8 million, or 38 cents, a year earlier. Sales in the quarter ended Aug. 31 fell 9.6% to $2.39 billion from $2.64 billion, the Richmond, Va.-based company said in statement. The decline was worse than expected by analysts. Same-store sales dropped 13%, led by a drop in the U.S. . . . more