Not really. Circuit City was somewhat of a local company in South East VA, they started and were headquartered in Richmond. Their corporate offices recruited heavily at my school and many that went through accounting with me either went there or their auditors. I even attended a few recruiting pitches with several professional orgs I was with.

Circuit City viewed their core competency in financing, not consumer electronic sales. They were the first electronic company to finance (according to them) and made most of their revenue from interest on sales. They then created a bank and then extended this competency into car loans, Car Max was owned by Circuit City, and a few other ventures. They then experimented in the failed idea of DivX as a DVD rental protocol that never took off, but perhaps inspired Netflix.

They lost a lot of money on Divx and it went defunct by 2001, that corresponded with their spinoff of CarMax. By then the lost focus on consumer sales and it became a drain against their banking line. So they sold that, and with the absence of the diverse revenue stream they just couldn't go on.

---

---

"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden

Did not know that about Circuit City.

Out of college worked at one for a period until I found a more stable job in my degree. Back when it was still commission. Some of the managers and other sales people were...interesting characters.

Anyways, I prefer Heinz and can tell the difference between that over Hunt's. I remember watching on the Food Channel (back when Iron Chef was the only cooking competition show unlike today) about how they make "X" type of foods or "X" product. One episode covered how they made Heinz Ketchup and they mentioned that their "special ingredient" is paprika. Maybe that is why Heinz has that extra something I don't taste in other brands or generic ketchups.

I tend to stick with things I like and try to go that route but am not fiercely brand loyal.

I guess the only thing I'd come close to for brand loyalty is Garmin as I've only owned those devices for my watches and bike GPS units. Cars, appliances, clothing brands, sporting goods I don't discriminate if it is a quality/good product.

Best Buy moved into Idaho and had ridiculous low prices, they put Circuit City and 2-3 other electronics out of business. Good prices and pretty knowledgable staff.

Now they are the only place in the valley. Shit service from people who make $10 to do nothing, and the prices went up big time. I don't go in there anymore unless I need something right away and can't wait for Amazon Prime, even then I make them price match Amazon.

I'm shopping electric's mostly right now and focusing on ESP, I like the H and MH bodies at the moment but was looking at the EC's before. 99% it will be a mid to upper level LTD, which is already way more than I deserve based on ability, 1% chance of finding an ESP level guitar (e.g. Horizon) used and within budget.

Also looking to get an acoustic later...borrowed a friends '70's Aria for now. Gravitating towards Taylor x14ce.

I'm overwhelmed with the variety of choices and have no good reason for zeroing in on these particular brands but it's where I'm at.

That's what I think ultimately contributed to Circuit City after they decided move back to a consumer electronic focus. I think they thought they could beat Best Buy based on their past reputation of having more knowledgeable staff. I know that is why I went there still above best buy, but then they really just had a bunch of kids who knew nothing and became indistinguishable from Best buy, but often had smaller stores to. So they just lost the low price and bigger selection game.

---

---

"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden

I should give it a try...my hair is always a mess, and not in the cool hipster "messy" style, more like just a dork who can't figure out a decent hair style.

Can't go wrong with a Taylor acoustic. My 414ce with tiger maple has been with me since 2000, will never leave her.

If I was looking today I would consider a Breedlove before I bought.

those are nice looking guitars, I just sold my Carvin dc127 last month because it was just sitting in my closet, loved that guitar, looked great and sounded great just never played it anymore.

I've been using Isurus wetsuits exclusively for the past three years.

---

Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

Groceries I have very little brand loyalty - with a few exceptions like cola (I'll drink Coke by preference, Pepsi is fine, won't drink the supermarket stuff), I reckon on most products there's not much taste difference between brands and the supermarket own branded stuff so I just go with whatever is cheapest.

I have more brand loyalty on products where you can't necessarily evaluate the quality the day you buy them. E.g. stuff like clothes, electronics or cars where the ownership experience is measured in years not mouthfuls. If I have 1 or 2 bad experiences on a particular brand I likely won't give them another chance, equally if I've had a great experience with a brand over a number of years I'm more likely to give them the benefit of the doubt if there's an issue. E.g. on cars I've owned 2 BMWs for 6 years each and never had a problem and they're near the top of the list for my next car, the car before that was a complete lemon that had multiple trips to the mechanic every year so I'll likely never buy from that manufacturer again. On computing I've had a lot of Lenovo products that have given years of good service despite taking a beating. I went off Apple for quite a while after having a faulty iPod and a temperamental iPhone 3GS in short succession. Have dipped my toe back in the market with an iPad for the kids but still wouldn't touch an iPhone.

Only recently discovered but Ted Baker for button down shirts. Too many dress shirts these days are made for fat guys. These are built perfectly for my beautiful triathlete physic :)

I forgot to add the New York Times online edition.

Despite the Trumpian hysteria over #fakenews, they really do a great job of in depth reporting.

---

===============
Proud member of the MSF (Maple Syrup Mafia)