Circuit City

Circuit City was America's second-largest consumer electronics retailer, trailing only Best Buy. It pioneered the superstore format for electronics retail and was once featured in 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins as an example of a company that made the leap from good to great. The irony writes itself.

In 2007, Circuit City laid off 3,400 of its highest-paid, most experienced salespeople and replaced them with minimum wage workers. The logic was cost savings. The result was that the one advantage Circuit City had over online retail — knowledgeable staff who could help you choose a TV — evaporated overnight.

Combine that with a recession, competition from Best Buy and Amazon, and a stores that felt increasingly dated, and the outcome was inevitable. Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in November 2008 and liquidated all 567 stores by March 2009. The brand was later bought and revived as an online-only store by various entrepreneurs, none of whom made it work.