Sep. 30--Circuit City Stores Inc., with a greater loss in the past quarter than last year, announced yesterday that it is taking a new look at how it operates.

In an earnings statement released yesterday, the Henrico County-based consumer-electronics retailer said that "given current market conditions, it was prudent to focus internally on improving the company's performance in order to operate as a stand-alone business."

Circuit City said that for the second quarter that ended Aug. 31, it lost $239.2 million, or $1.45 per share. That compares with a net loss of $62.8 million, or 38 cents, during the same time period last year.

The retailer took a charge of $73 million to bring fixed assets to their estimated fair value.

Sales fell 9.6 percent to $2.39 billion; sales at stores open at least a year, an indicator of retail strength, fell 13.3 percent. Domestic sales were down by larger percentages.

James A. Marcum, who stepped in last week as acting president and chief executive officer, said in a conference call with analysts that the company needs to go back to basics in order to return to profitability.

To do that, he said, management needs to focus on four key areas: customer experience, execution, service culture and stores.

The chain will not open any new stores, other than those already in the works, in fiscal 2010 so it can focus on executing its plan.

Marcum replaced Philip J. Schoonover, who resigned as the chain's leader last week.

Circuit City also will move executives overseeing its 22 The City concept stores into its core retail operations to cull best practices from each, John T. Harlow, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said on the conference call.

The immediate concern, however, is the upcoming holiday season. Two major retail organizations, TNS Retail Forward and the National Retail Federation, are forecasting disappointing sales.

Harlow said that in preparation for the season, Circuit City would conduct customer-service training for its employees, increase its in-store stock to make sure products advertised are on shelves and upgrade signage and visual merchandise to simplify the customer experience.

Tom Arnold, a finance professor at the University of Richmond's Robins School of Business, said the holiday season would be a good test of the chain's plan.

"How Circuit City weathers the coming holiday season with its current cash position will give us a good idea if they can credibly make the turn-around work. This will not be easy if consumer spending declines significantly," he said.

Circuit City has $92.5 million in cash or cash equivalents, according to the earnings statements. That is down from $424.4 million at the same time last year but about the same as the end of May.

Shares of Circuit City fell 29 cents to $1.08. Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or LLLovio@timesdispatch.com.

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