Logo

Bloomberg; AP

Is Radio Shack Close to Shutting About Half Its 4,000-plus Stores? It’s Our Non-TV Story of the Day

Feb 4, 2015  •  Post A Comment

“RadioShack Corp. is preparing to shut down the almost-century-old retail chain in a bankruptcy deal that would sell about half its store leases to Sprint Corp. and close the rest, according to people with knowledge of the discussions,” Bloomberg reports.

The story continues, “The locations sold to Sprint would operate under the wireless carrier’s name, meaning RadioShack would cease to exist as a stand-alone retailer, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks aren’t public.”

Another option, the story notes, is for Sprint and RadioShack to co-brand the stores.

 

In a separate, follow-up story, Bloomberg says “Amazon has considered using the RadioShack stores as showcases for the Seattle-based company’s hardware, as well as potential pickup and drop-off centers for online customers, said one [person], who asked not to be named because the deliberations are private.”

Part of the problem for RadioShack, according to the Associated Press is that The New York Stock Exchange plans to delist the company’s shares.

Notes the AP story, “RadioShack Corp. has been struggling with weak sales that have rendered it unprofitable. The Texas-based company warned last year that it may have to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its CEO recently warned it might not be able to find a long-term plan to stay afloat.”

For its third quarter that ended Nov. 1, 2014, RadioShack lost money, meaning that the company has now lost money for 11 consecutive quarters.

16 Comments

  1. I personally stopped going there when they started asking for my zip code every time I tried to purchase something and using high pressure sales tactics at the register to get me to buy more merchandise. I’m not the only one who feels that way. Many people I talk to feel the same way. We would rather go somewhere else to avoid the hassle. Those tactics drive away customers. I’m not surprised they’re in trouble.

  2. I used to swear by Radio Shack. My first computer, back in 1991, was a Tandy, which I purchased from a local Radio Shack. I still own a number of Realistic audio components, which I really enjoyed back in the day. But Radio Shack became more-or-less irrelevant, I guess. In a changing world, they got stuck in a rut. They had nothing I wanted or couldn’t readily find elsewhere. I really hate to see them go, though.

    Their asking for my zip code didn’t bother me–they’re only wanting to know where their customers are located. Often this information is used to determine where to locate retail stores.

  3. I agree that they have lost their way in recent years but they do carry a lot of hard to find components that make them the non-online go to place for tinkerers and inventors. Of the two options in the article, I vote for Amazon instead of another cell phone authorized dealer hut.

    • Wrong! They quit being the go-to place for components at least 15 years ago.

      • OK, you need a few capacitors and perhaps some LEDs now, where do you go?

        Sure, you can get them online, but you’re going to pay $10 shipping for the $2 cap. 🙁

  4. ALast time I went to Radio Shack I went to their location in Newberry South Carolina. I waited for their employee to finish with the customers in front of me, then asked him about the different mobile phone plans he had and he.just pointed to a section of the store and told me with a nasty attitude. The phones are over there! I could have gone OVER THERE without having to stand in line first! I just walked out of the store.

  5. I worked there once for about 6 mos. There biggest problem, IMHO, was to offer valuable knowledge of products to customers as compared to people who work at WalMart who don’t know much about the electronic products.

  6. The best Radio Shack store I have ever visited is in Bentonville, Arkansas. Very knowledgeable staff. They know electronics. In other stores, employees do not even know the names of electronic parts and the customer has to teach them. First shopped Radio Shack in the 1940s.

  7. Times change and tastes change. Have you ever been to Fry’s now there is a great electronics chain!

  8. I think the reason Radio Shack had lost its way over the years was its transition from a purely electronics parts and components outlet for hobbists to a competitor with cell phone companies and computer manufacturers. I understand to grow a business, a company has to change with the times and find a profitable line of merchandise. Instead of selling diodes, capacitors, and raw loudspeakers, Radio Shack opted to take on the big boys in the items that consumers found more relevant for their lifestyles. No longer were people buying turntables for their vinyl records or microphones for PA systems. Gone were the cassettes, receivers, and cabinet loudspeakers, being replaced by I-pods in a digital age. There are still those who like to tinker and experiment with electronic projects who will not have a readily available source for parts, though. Today shareholders are not content to have a business simply prosper at an even keel–they want more profit by expanding stores and creating new lines of merchandise to make things better–like JC Penney that tried to remake its image a few years ago. If it doesn’t work, they are crushed.

  9. I’m gonna miss RS.
    Electronics as we know it,
    would not exist if it weren’t for RS.
    Start up companies, students, inventors, self included in the garage,
    buying everything from diodes to Zeon capacitors,
    and tools and equipment that you couldn’t find anywhere else. (Pre-Internet)
    Most recently, Samsung TV Remote/Power button issue. I missed recall date by 7 months. They wanted $200 to repair. I Youtubed the Issue, and purchased 5 capacitors ($3.68) @ RS. All said and done, with labor about an hour.
    All I’m saying is, without RS on a local level this won’t be possible anymore.
    Cant go to walmart or anywhere else and buy a capacitor.
    TELEPHONY757

  10. Bet it was ten years ago when RS decided they would begin asking me PERSONAL QUESTIONS, on a CASH TRANSACTION. The clerks were unimpressed and continued to press for that information. The sins of the past…I walked out and never went back. POOR TOP-BOTTOM MANAGEMENT. Now GONE!

    • Now you can’t make an online purchase without an email address; how is that any different?

  11. Radio Shack initially was part of Tandy, a leather hobby store. They expanded into radio parts so one could make his/her own ham radio! It was a fun place. Once they concentrated on selling electronics they became a different animal. Not only were they expensive but they were, as others say, pushing phones and plans etc. In the meantime, the only reason I had to go to RS was because they saturated the market with bricks and mortar, not very smart as time progressed. Everyone else is abandoning stores, especially those in retail locations such as malls with high rent commitments. The demise is long overdue!

  12. I became a Rat Shack customer after Laffalot (Lafayette) Electronics shuttered their doors in the late 1970’s. I stopped shopping there after they refused to sell me something, FOR CASH, without my name, address, telephone number, and email address. Lots of people I know just gace them obvious BS like “Joe Blow, 123 Anywhere Street, etc.”, but the ability to blow it off that way wasn’t the ppint! The *point* is they have no business *DEMANDING* that information to complete a cash sale.

    Good Riddance to bad trash!

  13. I am proud of the years I have put into this company. Never once have I badgered a customer for their personal information. It is not required to take a phone number or an email for any transaction other than one paid for with a check or a return. I have been able to help many customers understand their devices and connect those devices to whatever medium they desired. I have tried to provide customers with the best customer service that I was able to give. I have never pushed a cell phone on a customer that didn’t ask me about them first. I apologize to those customers that were treated differently at other locations. I for one will be sad when I can not call myself a RadioShack employee.

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)