Circuit City at Pearlridge Center is closing after more than 12 years in business as part of a nationwide liquidation.

The bankrupt Circuit City Stores Inc. of Richmond, Va., one of the nation's largest consumer electronics retailers, announced yesterday it was unable to work out a sale, and would begin liquidating its 567 U.S. stores.

Liquidation sales start today and are expected to continue until the end of March.

The company will cut 30,000 jobs. Jim Babb, spokesman for Circuit City, could not say how many employees work at the Hawaii store.

Circuit City is the latest bankruptcy casualty affecting mainland chains that operate in Hawaii. KB Toys is in the process of liquidating its stores, including four in Hawaii, while Steve & Barry's closed in December after less than a year in business.

In March, CompUSA closed its stores in Kakaako and Pearl City after going out of business. The Kakaako store shut down despite the former manager's claim that it was company's top-grossing store in the nation.

The Circuit City store opened at Pearlridge Center in November 1996, and was one of the earliest electronics chains to open in Hawaii. Rival Best Buy opened nearby in 2005.

Two other Circuit City stores, up until the fall of last year, were slated to open at Kapolei Commons in West Oahu and Kona Commons in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. But those plans were shelved after a companywide restructuring, which included the closure of 155 stores by the end of 2008.

The Circuit City store occupies about 60,000 square feet of space, with two levels of retail and a warehouse on the third level, according to Mark Bratton, retail broker for Colliers Monroe Friedlander.

Deborah Sharkey, spokeswoman for Pearlridge Center, said the mall has not been given official notice yet of the closure.

Retail analyst Stephany Sofos chalked up the closure to competition, the cost of doing business in Hawaii, and the economic recession.

“;They're on thinner margins now because of the competition, and they can go belly up pretty fast,”; she said.

Competition for Circuit City included Best Buy just down the highway, she said, as well as Sears at the same mall, and Costco, Sam's Club and Wal-Mart.

After firing higher-paid workers in 2007 and opening smaller stores to cut costs, the retailer hired consultants for restructuring advice. Its stores before that were typically 44,000 square feet.

The company filed for bankruptcy in November after suppliers cut off credit and demanded cash for shipments upfront.

Circuit City creditors are guaranteed to get the first 70.5 percent of the value of the $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in inventory. The company anticipates that no value will remain for shareholders.

Circuit City's Canadian operations, where it has about 765 stores, are not affected and will remain open.