Cablevision to close WIZ stores... (1 Viewer)

[EricK]

Just announced this morning, Cablevision (NY-Long Island) will be closing 26 WIZ Electronics stores. I believe they have a total of 43 stores. They are also looking to sell their chain of Clearview Cinemas, which includes the Zeigfeld in NYCity.
Here is a link to the news....
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/bre...808&ID=1844938
I remember it used to be "Nobody Beats the WIZ." Looks like the WIZ beat the WIZ...Maybe we'll see some bargain hunting going on, much like the last time WIZ stores closed down under different owners (the original owners).
Eric.

 

[Aurel Savin]

Interesting ...

I worked for the Wiz right before it first was sold by its original owners to Cablevision.

Too bad that another NY household name is going down the tubes.

 

[KeithH]

That's too bad. I'll be looking for bargains.

 

[EricK]

Keith,
ME TOO!! LOL Just like the last time they folded.....
Eric.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Too bad that another NY household name is going down the tubes.

The Wiz hasn't had the same name recognition since the bankruptcy that led to Cablevision's acquisition. With Circuit City and now Best Buy moving aggressively into the region, it's not surprising that Cablevision wants to scale back.

As for Clearview Cinemas, there will be a buyer if the price is right. The theater business has been looking up lately.

M.

 

[KeithH]

Eric said:

ME TOO!! LOL Just like the last time they folded.....

The last time they folded. For employees of The Wiz, this is not a laughing matter, but they way you said this was amusing.

 

[EricK]

Keith,

For employees, it's like deja vu. Lately though, most employees working there have been young kids, so I think they'll rebound job wise. It will be interesting to see which stores get shut down, and if they reopen their warehouse in Elizabeth to the public for an inventory reduction.

Eric.

 

[Aurel Savin]

Lately though, most employees working there have been young kids, so I think they'll rebound job wise.

Actually there are a lot of veteran salesmen there as well.
I left from The Wiz 5-6 years ago and there are salesmen that I worked with that still work there. If you really know what you are doing you can easily make $70-$80K ... so it is a pretty hard job to leave. But I doubt that the stores I worked in will close as they were always money makers.
Probably the first ones to go will be out in the rural areas .. the ones too close to Best Buy and Circuit City

 

[Larry Price]

Aurel -

Since you seem to be in the know on this -

Is the Rego Park Wiz profitable - especially now with Circuit City across the street and Best Buy 1/2 mile away?

 

[Aurel Savin]

Larry ...
Good to hear from you again. I don't know if you remember we hung out on an HT Meet a few years back, in the city.
To answer your question,I just drove by the Wiz in Rego today and they have a big STORE CLOSING banner out. All inventory on sale. I will have to take a look inside and see what kind of bargains they have tonight.
The Wiz has been mismanaged for a long time. The days of the "commisioned" salesman are over. The Wiz had a very old school mentality for sales and management for a long time. The times have changed and they didn't.
Anyways ... anyone get any bargains at the closing stores?

 

[Piers C]

Stopped into a Wiz store tonight on the way home as they have started 15-30% off markdowns in the locations they are closing. I believe previously the markdown was 10%.

If my experience tonight is typical, I can report that the pickings are pretty slim. You may have some luck picking through floor demos, boxed units, and open tables of items. Even on the floor demos the prices were not all that competitive with etailers. Monster Cables were 30% off, so I picked up some of these. Everything was on sale though, from AV hardware to music/dvds. They were already out of cell phones.

You really have to pick you way through stuff and don' expect much assistance. The employees have to find new jobs, so customer service is not a high priority right now.

There may be some additional reductions you will find by the wkd. I got the impression that the idea was to get ride of as much as the inventory as possible.

 

[Ed Faver]

I went into the Eatontown, NJ, store today. The prices aren't yet incredibly low & probably won't be for DVD software as that stuff is easy to distribute to the remaining stores. Great buys on Monster Cable (40% off).

Did pick up the CC Life of Brian for $26. Not great, but I've had difficulty finding it.

 

[anthony_b]

I picked up a POLK AUDIO cs400i for $135 !!!...This speaker went for $375 originally !!!

 

[Aurel Savin]

Anbthony ... that is a sweet deal.

Now if I could get a tabletop widescreen set by Toshiba or Panasonic for about a grand ... I would be in Heaven!

 

[KeithH]

Does anyone know what kind of discount The Wiz in Princeton/Lawrenceville/West Windsor (Rt. 1 across from Quaker Bridge Mall) is offering on music now? I was there two weeks ago, and they still had music for 10% off. That wasn't much of a deal because in most cases, regular prices at The Wiz were high relative to Best Buy and Circuit City. On many CDs I checked, 10% off brought the price to the level of Best Buy or Circuit City or still slightly above. :rolleyes

 

[Ed Faver]

Keith-

The music discount varies. It's at least 20% for most forms of popular music. However, country and soundtracks/cast recordings were 30% off.

 

[KeithH]

Ed, thanks for the info. I may have to check that out.

 

[KeithH]

I was in The Wiz store in Lawrenceville, NJ tonight, and all CDs and DVDs were 30% off. To give you an idea of the savings, here is what I picked up:
* The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire two-CD set: Regular price: $23.98. Closeout price: $16.79.
* Foreigner 4 DVD-Audio disc: Regular price: $14.98. Closeout price: $10.49.
* Toto Toto IV multi-channel SACD: Regular price: $19.98. Closeout price: $13.99.
* Miles Davis The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions three-CD box set: Regular price: $41.98. Closeout price: $29.39.
I could have easily bought a lot more. I'll probably go back.