An end of an era is almost upon us...

[John_L]

Best Buy should just eat them.

 

Best Buy is going under themselves. Best Buy is essentially Amazon's display case. People go to Best Buy to get hands on with an item, then go home and buy it cheaper on Amazon and have it in 2 or 3 days at a much cheaper price. Best Buy isn't going to last very long either.

 

As for Radio Shack, they are a victim of the changing times. Years ago, you could go into Radio Shack, buy quality electronics, and if you ever needed service, you could drop off the unit, and Radio Shack would ship it, service it, and return it to your neighborhood store for you to pick up when it was done. This was very convenient when you considered that you had to pay for shipping both ways, and wait weeks longer to get equipment serviced for the major brand names. You also paid a premium when you bought the device because they alone offered this service. Also, they were the first to market with a home computer, and had the distribution system and servicing capabilities for computers as well. Over the years, as electronics continued to shrink, servicing became less needed as the electronics started becoming so cheap, when it broke, you tossed it, and bought a new one. Servicing equipment wasn't as needed or desired. So with the loss of the servicing business, they started servicing anything your dragged in, which destroyed the advantage of buying their brand name, and computers became such a low profit margin item due to competition from cheap PC makers that they sold off their computer factories and exited the computer biz entirely. They've always been a conservative company, and were late getting established on the web, which didn't help much, and they've tried to prop up the business by being a cellular dealer for all the major cellphone service providers, but there's tons of dealers like that out there, so while that helped, it's not carrying the business. They're also a victim being looked at like "Dad's" electronics store while the younger generation has looked elsewhere. Their recent Superbowl ad reflects that as they've attempted to re-image themselves as new and hip in a bid to attract younger users, but most younger users either get their phones through their parents, who generally go through the carrier directly, or buy prepaid crap in ghetto dealer shops that sell blunts, t-shirts and bongs. They've been on life support for the last few years, and they're going to run out of money soon. Their management is clueless at this point with what to do, their new boss wanted to re-image the stores and close a bunch of stores, but that's far too costly as re-imagine costs money, and closing stores involves buying out leases and shipping stock to other stores, so closing stores is more costly than one would think.

 

I think several years of bad management, and not finding ways to keep up with the times as their old core businesses became obsolete or unprofitable is why they're on the verge of collapse. I've already accepted that they're done. I'm just waiting for the doctor to come out, shake his head, and say I'm sorry, but they're gone.

 

Back in my day, we were business professionals, wore ties, and knew what we were doing, knew the product line, etc. A few years back, while servicing some DJ equipment for a friend I stopped in to buy about $40 worth of pieces parts that I needed, and the guy behind the counter offered to sell me the stuff cheaper if I didn't need a receipt. I told him I was doing work for a client and needed to produce a receipt for him, but the reality was that I was incensed that he was attempting to rip off the store. I knew the district manager from when I worked for Radio Shack years before, plus I grew up down the street from him, so I called him and gave him a heads up. Never saw that guy again...lol.

 

It's too bad, because as a kid, I used to go there with my dad to test tubes when our tv took a shit, and as a young adult, I worked for both Radio Shack and Radio Shack computer centers. I cut my computing teeth on a Model I and Color Computer 2 and 3, and have many fond memories as both a kid and adult. So, it's tough as I have memories that stretch back over many years, and it's sad to see they were so poorly managed the last 20 years or so that they're all but done at this point.

[Omega-TI]

Well the thing we have been expecting has arrived...

<< RADIO SHACK BANKRUPTCY >>

<< CURRENT STOCK PRICE >>

[82-T/A]

 

Best Buy is going under themselves. Best Buy is essentially Amazon's display case. People go to Best Buy to get hands on with an item, then go home and buy it cheaper on Amazon and have it in 2 or 3 days at a much cheaper price. Best Buy isn't going to last very long either.

 

 

Yup... completely agree. I went there a week ago... can't even remember what it was I was looking for, but I didn't find what I wanted.

 

While I was there, I just kind of looked around. They're selling appliances, as well as home electronics. Very weird, not sure if they've always done that. When I went to the software isle... they had like 5 PC games... that's pretty much it, it was really weird. They had a lot of high-end stuff, but I just couldn't figure out what their niche was anymore. I mean, I wouldn't even go there for a TV since there are outlet stores like Brandsmart here in Florida that sells everything dirt cheap.

[+save2600]

Looks like they're in talks with Sprint…

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-15/radioshack-said-in-talks-to-sell-stores-to-sprint-in-bankruptcy.html?cmpid=yhoohttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-15/radioshack-said-in-talks-to-sell-stores-to-sprint-in-bankruptcy.html?cmpid=yhoo

 

 

 

As an aside, visited a franchise Radio Shack store in Lake Delton the other day. Couldn't help but comment to the guy (turned out to be the owner) on their selection and format of the store. Took me back to the 70's/80's, when RS *used* to have what you needed and wanted in stock. Hell of a selection at this place when he mentioned that the franchise stores are the ONLY ones left making any money. DUH!

 

Corporate Radio Shack format can_not_work today. Hasn't really, since they ditched their core clientele years ago. Yet, they refuse to look at what their franchises are doing different. Incredible.

[Omega-TI]

Looks like they're in talks with Sprint…

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-15/radioshack-said-in-talks-to-sell-stores-to-sprint-in-bankruptcy.html?cmpid=yhoohttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-15/radioshack-said-in-talks-to-sell-stores-to-sprint-in-bankruptcy.html?cmpid=yhoo

 

Corporate Radio Shack format can_not_work today. Hasn't really, since they ditched their core clientele years ago. Yet, they refuse to look at what their franchises are doing different. Incredible.

 

Back in the day, stores had what was called an, "OPEN TO BUY" (not sure if they still do), which was a discretionary portion of the ordering budget that a manager could use to stock "whatever they wanted" when doing their cycle counts. Before I went to the computer side of things, my manager gave me a ribbing for going "heavy on the parts wall". There was a crap load of profit built into those parts, and it kept many people coming back for other things too.

 

And yes, the corporate structure now days is setup to let sh!* roll downhill, one mistake is multiplied by ALL the stores in a chain, and that can get expensive, because many employees feel that cannot speak up out of fear of losing their job. By not letting some individual managers 'go off script' and innovate, they are missing opportunities in varied demographic markets and are thus losing out. Also, when an employee feels like a mindless drone in some collective, it's hard for them to feel invested in the success of the company, so the company suffers. Over a period of time, the entire company gets infected with sub-par employees, as all the good ones have left for greener pastures.

 

There are many other aspects at play here that are too numerous to mention, like getting rid of certain brands, the changing market place and the Internets place in the dynamic, phone-pushy sales staff, messing with commissions, etc.

 

Times change and we have to move on I guess.

[jaybird3rd]

Amazon is reportedly eyeing Radio Shack's storefronts:

 

http://www.newser.com/story/202170/amazon-might-buy-radioshack-storefronts.html

 

I can see how this might create some interesting possibilities for Amazon, especially for the kinds of merchandise that people would prefer to see in person before buying. But, I wonder: if Amazon picks up Radio Shack's locations, which would give them a physical presence in every state, would the rest of us (within the USA) have to pay sales tax on our online orders?

[Bill Loguidice]

My only regret was not getting a CoCo 3 to play Super Pitfall. The pocket calculator with BASIC was something I pined for and eventually got as a teen. Battery life sucked so hard that I quickly lost interest.

 

I can't tell if you're joking about Super Pitfall...

[Bill Loguidice]

Amazon is reportedly eyeing Radio Shack's storefronts:

 

http://www.newser.com/story/202170/amazon-might-buy-radioshack-storefronts.html

 

I can see how this might create some interesting possibilities for Amazon, especially for the kinds of merchandise that people would prefer to see in person before buying. But, I wonder: if Amazon picks up Radio Shack's locations, which would give them a physical presence in every state, would the rest of us (within the USA) have to pay sales tax on our online orders?

 

Yes, everyone would then have to pay sales tax. I've had to do it here in NJ for a few years now once they built a distribution center here. It sucks, but it's still a good value when combined with Prime with the volume of stuff we order.