TIMELINE: Key dates for Circuit City in 2006-2008

(Reuters) - Circuit City Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, citing tougher credit terms from vendors and market share losses to rivals such as Best Buy Co and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Here are some key dates in the company's history:

2006

December 19: Circuit City reports a surprise fiscal third-quarter loss after it cut prices on hot electronics like flat-panel TVs and computers to lure customers during the holiday shopping season. The No. 2 consumer electronics chain also cuts its outlook for the full fiscal year. Shares drop 17 percent.

2007

January 5: Circuit City says December same-store sales rise 4.2 percent as consumers snap up flat-panel TVs during the holiday shopping season; raises full-year sales forecast.

February 8: Circuit City says it is closing about 70 international stores, mostly in Canada, and that Douglas Moore, its chief merchandising officer, has left the company. The company says it expects to close 7 U.S. superstores by the end of February.

February 23: Circuit City says Chief Financial Officer Michael Foss will leave the company in April to become finance chief at Petco Animal Supplies Inc.

March 28: Company says it has hired Goldman Sachs to explore strategic options for a possible sale of InterTan Inc, a Canadian retailer it bought in 2004. Says it will replace 3,400 U.S. store employees with lower-paid workers.

April 4: Circuit City posts a fiscal fourth-quarter loss on store closures and restructuring costs and says it will speed up cost-cutting.

November 6: Circuit City announces that David Mathews, merchandising and marketing executive vice president, is leaving the company for Orchard Brands, a holding company owned by private equity firm Golden Gate Capital.

November 21: Circuit City asks former employees, including some staffers replaced by lower-paid workers earlier in the year, to apply for new jobs.

December 19: Circuit City approves cash awards designed to retain upper-level executives.

December 21: Circuit City reports a bigger-than-expected fiscal third-quarter loss and forecasts a loss for the quarter that includes the holiday shopping season, which is typically its most profitable quarter. Shares drop 29 percent.

2008

January 7: The retailer says December sales at stores open at least 12 months fell 11.4 percent as changes at U.S. stores disrupted business.