Circuit City Stores Inc. will cut back on the number of stores it will open by the end of its fiscal year in February, a company spokesman said today.

The Henrico County-based consumer electronics retailer had said Monday in a conference call with investors that it would honor all commitments for new stores through the end of the fiscal year, but suspend openings beginning in March. Now, some stores closer to being opened will be affected.

The chain is conducting a review of its business, spokesman Bill Cimino said in an e-mail, and "as part of this review, we have been assessing the productivity of our asset base and, in line with this, we have put on hold the opening of some stores."

In a follow up e-mail, he wrote, "Some of the ones on hold are this year and some are next."

In an earnings report for the quarter ending Aug. 31, Circuit City reported it had opened 29 stores so far this fiscal year. It had expected to open as many as 26 more through early next year.

Cimino did not give an exact count of how many stores would be affected.

Circuit City stock closed at 57 cents yesterday, down 7 cents. It has traded as high as $9.65 in the past year.