As part of the deal being contemplated, Radio Shack would sell leases on as many as 2,000 stores to Sprint Corp. and Standard General, its largest shareholder, reports Blommberg. The rest of the electronics chain’s more than 4,000 U.S. locations are expected to be closed.
I am going to miss their stores. I was probably in a Radio Sack at least once a month buying one thing or another.
There were two things that always struck me about the chain, though.
First, the number of retail sales clerks in the stores was much higher than any other retail store in my recent experience. Their wage costs had to be way out of whack with retail industry standards,
Second, the stores, in my view, always failed to jump out and say, "look at me." In other words, there was no excitement around the stores. They seemed to be attempting this recently in newly renovated stores, but the magic still wasn't there. The failed success of the renovation was probably the final nail.
-RW
"Shack" isn't the best name. It makes me think the place is dumpy.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering for at least the past 4-5 years just how in the hell Radioshack has been open this long. Whenever you go by a store there is NEVER anybody in it. Their prices were also much higher than other b&m retailers and online merchants. I use to always joke that I thought it was some kind of front for laundering money and/or running drugs or other illegal activity out the back door (e.g. Walt's car wash in 'Breaking Bad'), that's the only possible way that they could have been in business for so long. Looks like the lack of customers and foot traffic finally caught up to them.
ReplyDeleteexactly. The prices used to be good once upon a time. It was like they thought they could save the stores with artificially high prices. The only thing I ever bought there was stuff like switches, resistors,circuit boards, etc and that stuff got kind of shoved back in the back of the store behind iPhone gadgets and RC cars. Their strategy just seemed really goofy to me
DeleteIf I went in one, it was generally to purchase an usual battery type. Years ago they really started to annoy me by demanding my phone number or email address, or my zip code when all I wanted to do was pay cash for a very small transaction.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sbnation.com/2014/11/26/7281129/radioshack-eulogy-stories
ReplyDelete