Say goodbye to Circuit City (NYSE: CC). And to another 34,000 jobs for the U.S. Economy. Because that’s exactly how many employees the chain still has to its name in its remaining 567 store nation wide.

Following in the footsteps of another big name national chain, Linens n’ Things, Circuit City is the latest to announce that it will officially be going out of business. Beginning tomorrow, January 17, the company will begin its final round of sales which will continue until March 31, pending court approval.

Its Canadian branch is faring better so far, and will continue operating all 765 of those stores for the time being. That has to be a relief for the 3,000 workers who work for those locations.

So what does this mean for retail? Well, don’t ask president and CEO George Whalin of Retail Mangement Consultants. Because he appears to be mixing up his messages.

On the one hand, he’s said that “This is very significant. It shows you how bad things are for the retail industry.” But then he also appears the first to admit that “This company made massive mistakes.”

The truth is that yes, this is significant… to some degree. I don’t see Circuit City going out of business without a catalyst such as the current recession and financial scare driving consumers to save instead of spend. But while retailers all across the country are hurting - even Macy’s had to close 11 stores, though it also will be opening up others later this year - few of the big names are close to financial ruin. That’s because proper management takes these kinds of situations into account and acts accordingly, both before and during the crisis.

So while I believe any analyst worth his or her salt will admit that U.S. retail isn’t in the best position of all time, don’t start seeing bankruptcy in every store window just yet.

Friday, January 16, 2009 - by Jeannette Di Louie, Assistant Editor of Mt. Vernon Research