More grievous news from a straining global economy: Circuit City, the mega-brand big box store chain, is officially closing its doors and liquidating its inventory.

After declaring bankruptcy last November, Circuit City failed to find a buyer to assist in refinancing and restructuring. Speculation puts the blame on poor management, myopic retail strategy, and a refusal to stand up to its major competitor, Best Buy.

This is sad news, indeed. Hours did we spend wandering around that store, touching stuff, ogling stuff, and wishing we could buy stuff. Heck, we even got a few good deals or two on open-box stuff. Most of the time, though, the customer service was awful.

We did like spending time in their enclosed audio demonstration chambers, on the other hand. We’ll miss the store, and our sympathies are with the 30,000 unfortunate workers who will be out looking for a new job.