Circuit City Switches CEOs As Schoonover Resigns

Struggling under a yoke of two years of losses, Circuit City replaced chief executive Philip J. Schoonover and named vice chairman James A. Marcum as acting president and CEO Monday.

The electronics retailer also named Allen B. King as chairman of its board of directors.

Many brick-and-mortar retailers like Circuit City, and CompUSA before it, have struggled in recent years against online retailers. Best Buy, which is currently emphasizing a drive into mobile communications, has fared better, but Circuit City with its strong TV lineup has been faced with a relentless drop in prices for TVs.

King, who retired as chairman of leaf tobacco firm Universal Corp. in August, joined the Circuit City board in 2003.

"The board of directors is committed to accelerating the pace of the company's turnaround," said King in a statement. He praised Schoonover for expanding Circuit City's multichannel capabilities and for developing its Firedog brand while at the same time noting that Marcum, who has extensive experience in retail electronics and entertainment, has already been identifying new opportunities to be developed by Circuit City.

Circuit City has had a turbulent recent few months. Blockbuster, also under profits pressure, had made acquisition overtures to Circuit City, but merger talks were abruptly called off in July.

Circuit City also reported Monday that it expects its second-quarter results to be slightly better than its previous forecast of a loss between $170 million to $185 million.