The war for consumer dollars spent on electronic equipment moved to Glen Burnie two weeks ago when Best Buy, the nation's No. 3 chain, opened a store less than five miles from the No. 1 chain, Circuit City -- just in time for the holidays.
"Glen Burnie was an opportunity to get into a Baltimore market this year," said Kevin Smith, general manager of the Best Buy store in the Glen Burnie Mall. "We felt Ritchie Highway was a well-trafficked area."
The 49,000 square-foot store opened Nov. 18 and has 130 employees. It was the last of four stores the Minneapolis-based company opened in its first foray into suburban Maryland. The others are in Columbia, Gaithersburg and Laurel.
With the addition of Best Buy, the Glen Burnie market has such big-name electronics stores such as Luskin's, Radio Shack, CompUSA and Montgomery Ward's Electric Avenue. The Circuit City store in the Southdale shopping center along Mountain Road is one of that company's 13 in the state. It opened in 1987 and has 100 employees.
When huge electronic stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City go head to head, price wars often follow, analysts say.
Yesterday, shoppers at Best Buy said they were there for the low prices.
"I usually shop around and try to find the best value," said Frank March, 45, of Baltimore Highlands. He said he has been to Best Buy four times and has spent $1,700. "Right now, this happens to be the best value."
"I just go for the price," Norman Montgomery of Severn said as he loaded a videocassette recorder, a typewriter and a radar detector into the trunk of his car.
He said he spent $400 at Best Buy but that he wouldn't stop shopping at other stores because "I really like what Circuit City has."
Similar sentiments were expressed by many customers, who said they didn't feel wedded to either store, both of which sell VCRS, compact disc players, computers, household appliances, tape decks and television sets.
Store officials say the difference between the two is the atmosphere and service.
Best Buy styles itself as a warehouse, averaging about 45,000 square feet per store. Its products are on the shelves, and customers can help themselves. "Here, you're standing in the warehouse. If it's on the shelf, it's there," said Mr. Smith.
Circuit City's stores are smaller, averaging about 35,000 square feet, but they have the same variety of electronic equipment sold at Best Buy. Both stores also sell CDs and cassette tapes.
Many of the goods are kept in stock, and employees will bring them out for customers. Circuit City offers full-service stores with salespeople paid on a commission basis. "You'll see a parity of prices," Circuit City spokesman Paul Rakov said from the company's headquarters in Richmond, Va. "The real difference is being able to provide customer service and provide other services."
Mr. Rakov said Circuit City and Best Buy compete in about 15 markets nationwide. Best Buy had $3.01 billion in sales last year, and Circuit City had $4.13 billion. Tandy Corp., which runs Radio Shack stores, was No. 2 with $4.10 billion in sales last year.
So is Glen Burnie big enough for all of them?
"I'm not concerned about the competition," said Paul Tozier, manager of the Radio Shack in Pasadena. The chain sells its own brand of electronic equipment and parts. "Stores such as Circuit City and Best Buy are going to bring me more business because the products they sell don't have the necessary equipment."