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RadioShack To Rebrand As "The Shack"?
Harry writes "Rumor has it that RadioShack is planning to re-brand itself as The Shack later this year, after eighty-eight years under the old name (most of them with a space in between 'Radio' and 'Shack'). I hope it's not true, because I don't think the move would do a thing to make the retailer a better, more successful business." Where will we go to buy soldering irons and those RCA to headphone jack adapters now?
It's very dangerous to rebrand because of how much you lose vs how much you gain. IBM makes bugger all money from "International Business Machines" these days but they wouldn't want to lose a brand everyone knows. Same for "Carphone Warehouse" in the UK, they don't want to lose the recognition despite the fact no-one has called a cell/mobile phone a car phone in 2 decades.
And Microsoft's stuff certainly isn't small. (*sidesteps hook*)
So despite the lack of "Radio" as their main business, they should REALLY look and see if the number of people who say "I don't need a radio I won't go there" might be outnumbered by the people who will end up saying "What the f is "The Shack"?". It sounds like somewhere you'd buy a very dodgy Hawaiian style shirt.
Well since they aren't going to sell real electronics anymore, maybe they'll stop reporting who is buying what electronics components to the government. Or am I thinking of the 80s?
Seastead this.
"The Shack" was the place to go to grab some TTL logic chips and capacitors. Now they sell cell phones, and not very well at that. I suspect "The Shack" is doomed.
What will rebranding actually do for them, will it increase sales, will it make room for better expansion or is it really just pointless!
The main problem is that a "shack" usually connotes a cheap, run down house. Not really the image they should try to project.
(I know "clam shack", "radio shack", etc. don't really have such a connotation. I'm just talking about the word "shack" when it's used all by itself.)
Guess that works better these days.
Blogging because I can...
The selection is about the same, the staff is equally competent, and they don't even ask for your address when you buy some batteries.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
They're just anticipating the coming legalization of pot. It will allow them to move into a generalized convenience store model, sort of a "smarter" quik-e-mart: soldering irons, robot toys, pot,and munchies.
davejenkins.com |
Radioshack has spent the last 20-30 years attempting to rebrand itself from a store that carries one-of-a-kind electrical components and equipment to a store that carries 2nd-rate, overpriced versions of the stuff everyone else carries (cellphones, computers, really awful audio equipment, non-educational toys, etc.). It's all part of their master plan to turn themselves into a store with no apparent reason to exist.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
"Where will we go to buy soldering irons and those RCA to headphone jack adapters now?"
Digikey?
Not to be an old grumpy man, but RS has missed out on the electronics maker revolution of the past decade. They could have been on the ball, like NewEgg, for the PC modding market but failed to adapt to the market. The RS of today is but a poor imitation of the RS of the '70s and '80s. Full of crap, obsoleted models and cheap junk. /Now get off my lawn.
Radio Shack has been an irrelevant vendor of cell phones and cheap 2nd tier consumer electronics for a decade. Long gone are the days when one ran down there to pick up a couple of capacitors and transistors to finish that weekend project.
Because if I had to buy any parts there I had to pay their ludicrous high prices.
In my opinion Radioshack (aka The Source in Canada) are trying to expand in to areas that are served by better players. Here, in Canada, they try selling home electronics but Futureshop (aka Best Buy) pounds them in to the ground on volume and price. As far as electronic components go, there are better and less expensive places as well in most cities. Radioshack does sell some cheap phones, music players, toy robotics, etc but I don't see how they can survive selling that.
the whole goal is to be more best buy like. They want to get rid of people who buy soldering irons, and other low margin items that require a lot of exspensive customer support.
Marlin P Jones for soldering irons
Digikey.com, newark.com, mouser.com for components.
Radio Shack has not been serving the needs of the professional / hobby electronics geek for years.
Goodbye Radio Shack, alas, I knew ye well.
All of the Radio Shack stores in Canada (that I've been able to find at least) were rebranded as "The Source" years ago.
In the last decade or so, Radio Shack seems to have been really pushing to become more of a "boutique electronics retailer", ditching their image as a "parts store" for hobbyists. I guess on one hand, I understand the desire - because there's not a lot of profit in individual sales when your customers want a package of resistors, a spool of wire, or some $10 pliers or cutter tool.
But I don't think their obvious alternative has worked out very well for them either. They're stuck trying to compete with much larger stores like Best Buy, and getting killed merely because Radio Shack doesn't have enough floor space in a store to carry the variety people expect when shopping for a new flat panel TV set or stereo, or computer.
Reminding people that their stores are small "EG. "The Shack" is emphasizing what may be their biggest negative in the market-space they're working in!
Will they show "syfy" on TVs at "the Shack?"
(Although, "the Shack" has been an unfriendly sales environment for years, it was always a great place to buy electronic doodads... just remember the guy selling you the extended service plan is not your friend...)
This is part of some new anti-geek backlash?
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
That sounds like either a seafood restaurant, bait shop, or garden-supply house.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
There's an onion article on this, but whenever I go by radio shack, I wonder how on earth they stay in business. The shops tend to be small, with various corners full of obscure electronics components. Yet, they also attempt to sell computers and televisions from these tiny shops. Everything they have in the parts drawer or on the shelves you can get cheaper off of ebay, often at half the cost or less. Radio shack is fundamentally inefficient. Each of these little shops has an inventory that sits there and depreciates, requires employees to tend, bills and management, etc. Internet mail order shops via ebay and other mechanisms is a lot more cost effective method for delivering high value specialty goods. I mean, I've seen CPU coolers and power supplies at radio shack : hello, newegg?
Radio Shack used to be a decent outlet for common electronic parts, what I've referred to as "the 7-11 of electronics". Over the last 10-15 years it's been shifting away from that, and into something more like a micro version of Best Buy or Circuit City with some electronic parts. I guess the world is moving away from electronics as a hobby now, which is sad, but even though they're not as useful as they once were, I'd be sad to see Radio Shack disappear. Aside from the local Fry's, which despite the immense amount of aisle space they dedicate to it has a pathetic selection of electronic components, there isn't anywhere else you can just walk in and find what you might need. It would suck to have to mail-order everything you need when you might need it on the spur of the moment.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
than 'radio' and 'shack'? Telegraph hut? Gramophone igloo? Victrola shed? . . .
Sweet informative mod.
Radio Shack stores were all renamed "The Source [by Circuit City]" here in Canada after InterTan was bought by Circuit City a couple of years ago. I think they've recently all been bought by Bell to be set up to compete with the mall stores that every other cell provider has.
You'll get over the name change. The "Radio Shack" brand never had extremely positive connotations (as far as I know), so they're not losing much. Name changes, brand identity...they're all junky stores staffed by uninformed people in low-cost malls no matter what you call them.
I was actually thinking that if they were going to change one part of their name, calling the store a 'shack' is certainly more likely to turn away customers than implying that you sell radios... would you buy anything from the Computer Hovel? The Cell Phone Shanty? Meh... I won't be sad to see them go in any case, they have totally missed the opportunity to dominate the hobbyist market by making a half-assed attempt at edging into the mainstream.
To the haters: You can't win. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine
Last time I went into a Radio Shack "The Shack" to pick up some barrel connectors, the woman at the counter had no idea what I was talking about. When I spoke with the wandering sales kid, he at least knew were the tiny little bin of electronic components were. When I asked the kid, he made a joke about not knowing anything about electronic, but he could help me buy a cell phone.
That was the last time I will go into a Radio Shack...
Seems to me that the corporation is free to brand itself whatever it pleases. If they feel that they can justify the added expense of making new signs and advertising material with increased sales via the name change, more power to them. This re-branding doesn't seem nearly as stupid as this other one that just took place about a month ago,... ;-)
Online retailers, of course! Sparkfun, Vetco, Jameco, etc come to mind for most of my Radioshack type items that I need. In fact, I've ordered from the RadioShack website 3 times in the last year - During the same period, I've stepped into a RadioShack store exactly 0 Times. Once the stores focused on Cell phones, Direct TV, and Monster cable, they pretty much became dead to me.
Now instead of "Radio Scrap", it'll be named "The Scrap". :D
Not much better...
Indeed, I believe they are being too conservative in this renaming. For regular customers of Radio Shack, we know the new name is too high class. The only possible remedy for this situation is to name the chain "Electronics Shanty," because we all know that's what they are.
Read: Rabbit Rue - Free serial nove
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RadioShack#.22The_Shack.22_re-branding ... ...
RadioShack is in the process of re-branding[citation needed] the company as "The Shack" as well as re-building corporate culture. This will be kicked off by a launch celebration in both San Francisco and New York featuring "14 foot tall laptops" streaming the images from their webcams from one city to the other, live music in both locations, as well as television coverage of the event.[13] The event will take place in Times Square and Justin Herman Plaza on August 6-8, 2009, starting each morning at 6AM Eastern and lasting until Midnight. In addition, "The Shack" began a telemarketing campaign on July 31, 2009, in which they call post-paid customers in the morning to inform them about upgrade eligibility. To help promote the remanding internally employees were given T-shirts, travel mugs, and EGrips all branded with the new "The Shack" logo. These internal promotional items were bundled with a 5 minute long, highly stylized and edited video with an introduction from the CEO explaining what "The Shack" is.
I think they should change their name to "Hz So Good."
...that's understandable.
I'm not sure what is better.. "The Shack" or "Radio Shaq"
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
Rebranding Circuit City as "The City" worked well for Circuit City?
Is there some Consultant on the loose recommneding this?
It actually sells capacitors and whatnot in the little drawers. Most of the RadioShacks I've been in lately are all about ipods, wireless networking, and cell phones. I want a place to buy transistors in blister packs dammit !
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/even_ceo_cant_figure_out_how
I'm not normally a huge Onion fan, but this article is so spot-on, it brings a smile to my face every time I think of it.
Are they not aware of the connotation conjured up by the recent best seller in the "Creepy Christian Fiction" genre?
I would think one would buy beef jerky or discount goods from a place called The Shack. They might want to hire a new marketing firm because the one they are using is giving them very bad advice...
Most of the specialty stuff that RS used to sell is gone. The weird capacitors, fuses, doodads ect.. that couldn't be found anywhere else have just disappeared from the shelves. I suppose hobbyists use the Internet now. Also, the prices are way too high. I used to love the place, now it is useless.
Where will we go to buy soldering irons and those RCA to headphone jack adapters no
You can go just about anywhere for those. The closest Radio Shack to where I live is across the parking lot from a Home Depot, I can buy those items there. For that matter I think I can find a better selection of those items there.
... OK I give up, what is it now?
The only thing I can get at Radio Shack that I can't get anywhere else is
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Wait, did I say Pizza Hut? No no, I meant PASTA Hut... Riiiight, because everyone calls it Pasta Hut now.
*Rolleyes*
I'm not surprised Radio Shack is re-branding itself. A) Radio is now 'old' technology, and doesn't have the 'cool' factor that once it did; B) As the parent points out, their business has largely changed. It's hard to find any radio's in a radio shack (I think you can find maybe a couple Ham radios, and a few unlicensed 2-way radios, and maybe some ridiculously over-priced stereo's and home theater systems, but largely their business and profits come from selling cell phones, computer accessories, toys, cables and batteries - radio is really not a 'focus' of their business any more; C) As time goes on, and tech progresses, they will have to keep going from one declining market to the 'next big thing', so it really doesn't make sense to have any particular technology in the name of the company, as it too, will eventually become obsolete, and not reflect the company's business anymore.
So, "The Shack" seems as reasonable a name change as any. It at least keeps *some* continuity with the established brand, while chucking the historical 'baggage'.
Rizzle Shizzle.
Give them a break... they've left about 6 inches of shelf space in the very very far back of each store for one-of-a-kind electrical components and equipment.
Haha, spot on. Radio Shack, I mean RadioShack, I mean The Shack used to be the place to go to get specialty cables and all sorts of crazy gadgets and what not as a kid. Now I can't remember the last time I stepped foot in the store, I think it was when they wanted to charge me $30 for a super special gold plated component video cable. I left and went to WalMart and got the same thing for half the price.
This is a pre-emptive move to keep Joe's Crab Shack from expanding into electronics kits in their kid's meals.
Sheesh, the "SyFy"-ification of branding.
DJs getting laid-off all over the place (my town has no DJs between 6 pm and 6 am). Music programmed by a computer set to automatic. More-and-more people using iPods to create their own music playlists... virtual stations in a pocket.
I don't blame "The Shack" for wanting to distance itself from radio.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
The term "radio shack" was coined in the early 20th Century, when shipping companies began to add radio to their vessels. Since the ships were already built, the extra room for the radio equipment had to be added -- there was typically no existing space with both access to the antenna (i.e., above deck) and the necessary electrical power from the ship's plant. (The audible noise from the spark equipment of the day also meant that the equipment, which was used largely at night, couldn't be placed near the officers' sleeping quarters.) Paid for out of operating expenses by the frugal shipowners, these added rooms were typically small and poorly constructed, often from wood, and the term "radio shack" quickly followed.
New ship construction, of course, included a purpose-built room for the radio equipment, still called the "radio shack." Even the Queen Elizabeth 2 has a radio shack. The term quickly moved ashore -- amateur radio stations are in shacks, for example -- and "radio shack" came to mean the place where all the equipment was. From there, commercial use soon followed.
This guy can't figure it out either
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/even_ceo_cant_figure_out_how
As an RS employee, I can confirm this. Apparently in several places, people have been calling it "the shack" for a long time.
It should be noted that the official name of the company isn't changing, just the "brand image" or some such marketing gobbledygook. I believe the rollout for the new name will start sometime in August, but I'm not sure.
Personally, I think it's stupid. "Radio Shack" may not be the most descriptive name for the company any more, but there's gotta be something better than "The Shack".
BrandNew details companies going through logo redesigns or branding shifts. Lately, it would seem (subjectively) that many companies, specifically from the retail & financial sectors, seem to think rebranding will fix their problems with market share or profitability. I would seem to think it had more to do with the economy in general, but clearly coming up with a snazzy new logo or branding message will magically increase profits just as easily.
(BrandNew is a great blog because even very large companies with unlimited resources often get it *very wrong*)
Radio Shack to try re-branding in an attempt to save another failing business segment?? Never! Tandy... Optimus... Realistic... Duofone... Accurian... Archer... Presidian... Auvio... etc... It seems like the only thing they are good at is branding.
He just created a new cycling team called Team RadioShack and will have to change the name to match, he had the t-shirts printed and everything.
"The Shack". Otherwise they'd have to pay big licensing fees to Shaquille O'Neil.
I am officially gone from
Basically, what the parent says - RadioShack might have smaller locations, but they have *more* locations than *anybody* else (except, maybe soon, Walmart; I really wonder if Walmart is having any impact on RS's business - I bet they are a bigger problem than the Internet for RS). They're everywhere - even in strip malls in little out-of-the-way semi-rural areas. They might not have everything, but they have lots of adapters and cables to get things hooked up ("Oh, we got this new HDTV and we want to use it now, but we need a stupid adaptor which wasn't included with the device").
Radio Shack is convenient, and expensive. The expensive allows them to stay profitable with so many locations, the convenience makes them compelling for lots of 'small' purchases where, yeah, maybe Radio Shack is charging 50 percent more than anyone else, but it's a difference between $10 and $15 and people decide the extra $5 is just worth it to get the thing now.
I used to lament the fact that Radio Shack was going downhill and not doing nearly as good a job as they used to about selling actual electronic components and kits and manuals (like the old Forrest Mims books, and actual chips and resistors and board etching kits and such). Then we got a Fry's in town, and it blew Radio Shack outta the water. Way bigger selection of electronics components. Bye bye Radio Shack. I miss the old you, but I won't miss the decaying corpse you've become lately.
11*43+456^2
Quite honestly, they are trying to compete against established bigger companies that have gone out of businesses. By doing all made electronic gadgets, they are hurting themselves. OTH, they could go in a different direction. How about selling not just electronic parts, but items for building ideas? The reason that I suggest that, is that America used to have an infrastructure that made it possible to build a number of gadgets, ideas, etc. That is slowly going away. For example, radio shack no longer has the ability to build computers. And the capabilities to breadboard things is minimal. BUT, if they put together kits for learning from, and then made it possible to order on-line and simply pick up the parts in a couple of days at a local shack they would go far. Also, at the same time, they should consider targeting items such as adding speakers to a house. And why not offer innovative products. Heck, at this time, they would be wise to ask for new patentable ideas to be made by Americans (or at least in the west) and sold here.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
There was a chain of porn shops around Baltimore called "The Shack" so the name will have some hilarious connotations here.
-
They are expensive and come up with this kind of stuff that is hurting their business. So save money dumping corp middle managers and go back to their nitch selling electronic parts and equipment and get people in the stores that know about electronics. And stop asking for phone numbers, I stopped going just because of that and drive to Fry's even though it is a long way from me.
Nuff' said.
"Radio Shack. You've got questions; we've got blank stares."
With apologies to the B-52s
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Will /. be rebranded "The Slash"? Or "The Dot"?
The competitors of the traditional Radio Shack were not the likes of Ace Hardware, and only marginally were they stores like BestBuy or CompUSA. Radio Shack didn't sell hardware for mechanical engineering, like an Ace Hardware store; it sold hardware for electr(ical|onic) engineering. Its competitors were other electronics hobbyist and surplus stores, like Dow Electronics, Marvac Electronics, HSE Electronics, and so on.
Truth be told, though, Radio Shack's biggest competition came from the atrophy of that market. Over the last three decades, steadily more people have become consumers of electronics and stopped being creators or engineers of it. That is why Radio Shack transitioned from selling components to selling "pre-fab" products; they couldn't compete with those other stores in a dwindling market, and some of those other hobbyist stores have disappeared altogether. Could they have created an advertising campaign that would single-handedly have reinvigorated the hobbyist component market? I doubt it.
That said, this alleged re-branding is even more idiotic than Pacific Bell spending $750,000 to re-brand itself as Pacific Telesis Group (that was just the bill from the ad agency that came up with the name, not the total cost of the name change). "The Shack" isn't edgy or funny, it's just weird and dumb, especially because it will say NOTHING descriptive about the current business model or product offerings.
...from the company that makes a point of discontinuing every decent product they've ever made. Examples include: the Minimus speaker (mine are 25 years old and work great), the Linaeum tweeter, the Optimus CD-3400 portable CD player, and the original analog SPL meter.
Then it would have worked for GM and Ford and Chrysler, who rolled out a new name every time they made a new car. Alan Mullally famously just put a stop to this at Ford, pointing out what everyone else has been saying, that Toyota has been using Camry and Corolla now for decades... Don't change the name...
This is my sig.
How about "Dandy Tandy"? It's just as dumb and nondescript, but at least it's lyrical.
that Radio Shack is still in business
That's what we used to cal it back when I worked there. They have a pretty lax return policy which is often heavily abused. People come in, buy a radar detector, camcorder, digicam, etc. They take it with them on a vacation or other event and bring it back when they're done. As long as the packaging is in good shape, they have a receipt, and it's within 30 days, we had to accept it. My manager would frequently try to fight it, even complaining to corporate, but of course nothing happened. Towards the end of my time there, when people would walk in with an item all boxed up, receipt in hand, smiling, I'd just ask "So, have a good vacation"?
Over the years, the section in the middle shrank, the section at the front expanded, and once it had absorbed the space at the front it started taking up the space at the back. When I visited the local one a year or so ago, this change was complete; it now only stocked the things from the front of the store. I think, at the time, I was looking for a fuse; eventually I discovered that my local hardware store sold them. If I wanted to buy electronic components these days I'd probably look online first, so I'm not sure how a brick-and-mortar store can be expected to stay in business.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
We used to have a RadioShack across the street...but it was little more than a place to buy gadgets and sign up for cellular service. There's one out towards the edge of town, but it's part of a TrueValue hardware store and we were lucky to find goddamn Hook-Up Wire, much less anything else. (In fact, it was little more than a RadioShelf) I'm actually amazed beyond words that they even carried any veroboard. The last time I saw a RadioShack that actually carried things like resistors and diodes was more than ten years ago.
RadioShack is an icon of my childhood. Growing up with a geek dad who was always tinkering and building, those blue-carded blisterpacks of RadioShack and Archer-branded components were everywhere. But frankly, even if RadioShack were still 'alive'...the vast majority of my electronics work is surface mount, and what components and supplies I don't order from China for fractions of a cent on the dollar, I order from Digi-Key. That said, it is still the 'End of An Era' as far as I'm concerned and really something the geek community should be mourning.
Friend: "The NIC is misconfigured..." Me: "No prob, I'll just telnet in and fix it." *Silence*
I couldn't help but think if this was 10, 15 years ago not only would I not have gotten a blank stare, if it was that slow they might have offered to even make it while i was there.
Nah, that's not quite far enough back... At least, not in the Radio Shacks I'm familiar with. In the mid-Nineties the stores were roughly as they are now. Maybe fewer cell phones and more VCRs and DVD players, but the reduction of the parts section and the blank stare effect were in full force at that point.
Mid to late 1980s you might have had better luck. I still can't imagine the folks at Radio Shack building anything for me, but they'd be happy to show me their selection of soldering irons...
Honestly, though, while the hobbyist aspect of Radio Shack has declined a lot since I was a kid, I have been impressed from time to time with what they do have. For instance, they carry a kit + activity book to help people learn to use microcontrollers. That's damn cool IMO. I never would have thought I'd see such a thing in Radio Shack these days: from about 1995 onward I've been pretty cynical about them due to the vast reduction in the parts section.
Bow-ties are cool.
Same for "Carphone Warehouse" in the UK, they don't want to lose the recognition despite the fact no-one has called a cell/mobile phone a car phone in 2 decades. [...] [RadioShack] should REALLY look and see if the number of people who say "I don't need a radio I won't go there" might be outnumbered
FACT: There is a Radio in your TV. There is a Radio in your Wi-Fi laptop. In fact, there is a Radio in your Carphone.
As it stands, most people would rather get their electronics from a hobo in a dumpster than from Radioshack. Changing their name to 'The Shack' would undoubtedly tap this rich (well, sort of) market.
It used to be that if you walked into a Radio Shack and saw a bunch of TRS-80 computers, a wall full of electronic parts, total geeks working behind the counter, you might get the impression that the TV's and Stereos that they carried were pretty good stuff, because the whole store screams geek.
By getting rid of the geeky electronics image, they've kinda undermined their consumer electronics brand... were I a consumer electronics retailer, I would carry a mix of hobbyist equipment and just let it sit on the shelves, and premium products, and I'd bet one could establish a brand.... I mean, if Home Depot can make 100B a year selling the idea that you build a deck yourself, why not have people put together their own PCs and LCD tvs...
This is my sig.
Don't know why I keep going, (it's 2 blocks from the house, the staff rarely has a clue when I call and letdown is 99.9% assured), but I've been in the Shack 3 times in the last year or so. Every time they did not have what I needed(LED, Cap, ps jack) in that store, but they had the part at another store in another part of town. Rather than run around like a rat looking for the cheese, however, Fry's and Capital Supply are closer than the other stores.
Imagination drew in bold strokes, instantly serving hopes and fears, while knowledge advanced by slow increments...
So do I get pizza at The Shack and headphones at The Hut? Or is it diodes at Jabba the Hut, and chicken wings at SleezeShack?
PS My local Radio Shack (space intended) does still sell bread boards and many of the fixin's - plus an encyclopaedia sized catalog for special orders.
Does this mean that folks will only go there if their daughter has been murdered and they want to complain to God about it?
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
I always call it RadShack and even under a rebrand probably always will.. Don't think I have said the full name Radio Shack in forever.. lol
"The Shack: You've got questions...
We've got cellphones."
Hacker Public Radio is our Friend
So I'll be able to buy pot AND phone phreaking paraphernalia in the same store????? Sweet!!
For praising the machine.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Because that's their primary business now, apparently...
No Radio Shack article is complete without The Onion's business analysis.
Never shake hands with a man you meet in a fertility clinic.
It's about as far back as I can remember...heh.
And ok, maybe in reality they wouldn't have actually made it, but it's the feeling I got from the Radio Shack my dad would take me to.
Stark contrast from the one I went to last week.
I can see why they would do this. When I worked there people used to complain all the time that it is still called Radio Shack even though they really do not carry radios anymore. Back in the day it was a great store for car stereos and ham radio enthusiasts. Now they cater to neither. However, rebranding will likely hurt them more than help. Perhaps instead of rebranding they should once again stock some radios. They still have a ton of people who come in there looking for them.
Back in the late 80's in WV, the place to go hang out and drink under age was the parking lot of the empty warehouse behind the RadioShack. The place for drinking was nicknamed "The Shack". So, the name change is very appropriate, it is still a place to spend too much on cheap product that makes you feel sick.
the radio shacks by my house stopped stocking components years ago. If I wanted a soldering iron or 1/4" phono jacks, I would have to get them from the website.
Now, they stock plenty of cell phones and weather radios and television antennas, and other goofy consumer electronics.
So much for the radio part of the name.
They're using their grammar skills there.
"Where will we go to buy soldering irons and those RCA to headphone jack adapters now?"
You buy them at monoprice.com duh.
(They don't have a soldering iron, but they do have a 23pcs PC toolkit that includes a crappy one.
As an indicator of what they've become... I was in "The Source" (the Canadian re-branding of Radio Shack) a few days ago looking for a headphone adapter, and when I entered the store, the clerk and the sole other customer were having a conversation about the merits of a motorized barbeque brush. It's one of those "Look, it's a cheap crappy gift already packaged in a box for you to give someone!" things that RadShack carries, but this guy was looking at it for himself. It's a rotating treadmill thing with a handle and steel wool on the treadmill so when you press the trigger it scrubs the barbeque for you. It takes 6 (six!) D cells. The guy asked if it was any good, and the clerk replied "Yeah, it has lots of power, it worked really well.". A motorized barbeque brush. Ooooohkay then. Oh, Radioshack, what have you become?
I've been calling it Radio Hut for the longest time!
Its not like this rebranding will make the products any better or cheaper. But what do i know.
--- I was far from home, and the spell of the Eastern sea was upon me. -Lovecraft-
This isn't a flame. RS really does suck. They are a spec of what they used to be. I can't go into stores and buy components anymore - actually it's been at least 10 years since I could buy electronic components. RS is all about gadgets anymore. They sell cheap electronics that I can get at 100 other stores. The problem is that I can't get resistors, capacitors, switches, LED's, displays, etc at RS anymore. So how is RS different from the big box retailers? They're not...except that they're smaller.
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
Mod parent up! I thought of this story immediately.
radioshack, listen up. I don't visit your store very often, maybe once a year or less. max. i think a lot of people are the same way. also, i move probably every couple of years. so, when i need something small and simple (come to think of it, i need a cheap rca to stereo 1/8" adapter right now) I look on my maps app on my iphone for the nearest RADIOSHACK. if there isn't one, I go to best buy and spend way more money than i should have. I will not remember to search for "The Shack", and no one else will either, especially those who don't hear about the news on sites like this. Lastly, if you are counting on customers driving by and saying "hey look! it's like radioshack but it's a different name. lets go check it out!" i think you're sadly mistaken. I believe a lot of people think like me, in that they do not think favorably of rip-off chains who try to associate themselves with better-known chains and this is exactly what I would think if I saw "The Shack" on the side of the road. I'd think it was some worthless ripoff of a once popular chain. save your money on branding, and just clean your stores up and focus on hiring people who know what the hell it is you sell.
I have one Mistah Kottah!!!
HORSESHACK!
Back in the mid 90's Radio Shack decided that they owned the word "shack" since it was part of their trademark and decided to sue a site(maybe it was a BBS, I forget many of the specifics) called Bianca's Smut Shack because of this.
I remember emailing what I think was the CEO to tell him that he needed to reread trademark law a bit to understand he had no claim on a single and common word but he, in his infinite wisdom, asserted that he was indeed correct and was going to continue with the lawsuit despite the fact I wouldn't be going to the Rat Shack ever again. I then remember reading about a year later that Radio Shaft had lost the lawsuit and that Bianca was free to spread smut. So he lost the lawsuit and my repeat business. Good going there, buddy.
That said, I think they'll try this shit again if given the opportunity. And since "The Shack" may be their name, they'll probably get really aggressive with trying to protect it much like M o nster Cab le and their asshole attorneys have been doing in the past. Yeah, that cable company doesn't get my money either.
Radio Shack started as a mail order electronics company. I believe it was in Mass somewhere. In 1963, they got the idea of opening retail stores. It's been downhill since. We should probably have a contest for best (or worst) Radio Shack experiences. Mine was in the l;ate 1960s, when I overheard a clerk, holding a very small transistor radio, maybe 3" square, with built-in speaker, and telling a potential buyer: "Now, this radio has the finest sound of any small radio I've seen."
This was always a point of contention with Radioshack, asking for my phone number at the register during checkout. I found it to be a bit invasive and unnecessary and quite frankly, they should have been glad I walked in the door to patronize their business. To be fair, it wasn't the employee's fault. I'm sure it was some software prompt that corporate mandated to track customer loyalty. I don't want to be tracked, polled or tabulated when I buy a gold-plated mini-jack y-splitter.
Back in the days when payphones were still ubiquitous, Radio Shack used to sell a pocket-sized tone dialer that was VERY easy to convert into an illegal device (called a "red box") that would allow you to make free calls from a payphone. All that was needed was to open the thing up and replace the original timebase crystal with a different frequency. The replacement crystal wasn't an off-the-shelf item at RS, but they supposedly could special-order it for you.
Rumor had it that if you ordered the crystal at the same time you bought the dialer, the store would give your info to the cops or the phone company.
No idea if it was true or not, because I just ordered the crystals from DigiKey or Jameco, myself. Made a fair amount of money in high school selling those modified tone dialers....
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Radioshack in Canada is now The Source from Circuit City.
Below is a copy of a snail-mail letter which I mailed just now to the Corporate Offices.
-----
RadioShack Corporate Offices
Riverfront Campus World Headquarters
300 RadioShack Circle
Fort Worth, TX 76102-1964
Dear Sirs:
Recently I chanced upon some information suggesting that your organization may be considering a name change to âoeThe Shack.â
I, being not a fan of the dumbing down of America, feel obligated to stress that this is a horrible idea.
I often roll my eyes when I hear of an otherwise successful organization making a boneheaded move like this. The Radio Shack brand was, at one point in time, somewhat respected. Please do not throw away the last shred of intelligence, by naming your once-great establishment after a single syllable word of first-grade reading level.
The name âoeThe Shackâ brings to my mind's eye the mental picture of a toothless, black, ignorant, idiot; one who feels more comfortable with the shortened simplified name, only because it is so far easier to use only a single word; a word that can be expressed in a single grunt, if necessary.
While your component selection has been reduced to a few bins of overpriced parts, delegated to the back of the store, and your main business model now seems to be that of a cellular retailer, you still have at least some credibility. Like a washed-up sports star or nursing-home-enslaved actor of another era, your brand still has some small respect, if only because it was once something special.
Reducing your stores' names to single-syllable words that rhyme with a cough or gag will accomplish what years of mismanagement and bad decision making have been unable to muster: remove the last grain of credibility.
Lay off the crack pipe.
+++
I actually had a great experience there recently. I needed to buy some components for a hotwiring a car. They didn't have the exactly the part I needed, but actually knew enough about electronics to get me a quick workaround for about $5. And the chick helping me was HOT!
I was super suprised at 1. RadioShack being helpful. 2. Finding a hottie working there.
Now if only Verizon reps knew what the hell they were talking about.
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
I just had to relay this anecdote. I like to listen to the radio on my bike ride home and a few years ago my pocket radio broke. I went to radioshack to get a new one. They only had one radio in the entire store. It was the size of a paperback book and had an antenna for fuck's sake. When I pointed out that for a place called radioshack they sure don't have very many radios, they offered to sell me a cell phone that played MP3s.
There used to be a porno shop / brothel near here called "The Shack". They had a sign that said, "Two for One Tuesdays!"
If they just went super geek, like the stores they have here in Taiwan and in Japan, and sold only tech components (capacitors, resistors, pcb kits) and tools (other than soldering guns) they should do fairly well...these stores here are TINY yet they pack the inventory in. Sure, any normal "average joe" BestBuy customer wouldn't know what the hell anything inside is ,for but I'm sure there are enough geeks around the whole country to sustain the business. I can find almost all the stuff needed to prototype stuff for my own electronic hobbies and I can't find the fine precision tools anywhere else. I can't even think of anywhere to find T-6 screwdrivers in America except for online stores or specialty cellphone stores.
Heck, even sell cool educational toys like model kits that let you build a tiny solar windmill, programmable arm, whatever. I see all these cool model kits/toys here in Asia that I wish I had as a kid. I just bought my nephew a reconfigurable solar model kit that is 6-in-1: Build a solar windmill, a solar powered car, a solar powered walking bug, solar powered spinner, solar-powered boat/hoevercraft, solar-powered hopping robot (well, it "tries" to walk).
Bought a kit to build a very simple radio and transmitter for another nephew. And I bought for a third nephew (yes, I have lots of nephews) a solar kit that lets him use an empty water bottle as the "chasis" so he can learn the effects of solar-power and also of weight/design/creativity. Yes, there are some DIY educational kits available in the US but they all seem so boring and not inviting to lots of young kids.
They should merge with "The Hut" so you could now get your 2nd rate electronics and pizza all under the same roof!
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
I stopped by Wal*Mart recently after a few months avoiding doing so...
Found they have, O I'd say spent 20K+ to replace their old signage with a sightly updated but basically the same signage. Once entering the store my second WTF moment was instantly realizing they have totally moved everything around. The only reason I could think of for this was to trick people into buying shit they didn't come for. I made a point not to buy anything extra but I know most people would have. This makes me very angry and adds to my desire to randomly shoot people but I'm working on that in therapy... Honest...
But in the middle of a recession, lets go ahead and buy a new $20 grand sign for every store as that will improve our bottom line... WTF? does that really work or is it just required when you go and move everything around inside so people don't think it's just a cheap trick to get them to buy more crap they didn't come for???
And why is; the SiFi Channel now the SyFy Channel, Pizza Hut now 'The Hut' and 'Radio Shack' now just 'The Shack'? Are all the corporate types watching Dr Who reruns while getting high to think up this shit and more importantly does it really work?
One more thing, I've not watched any TV for awhile and was very shocked by the new advertising. Has anyone seen that damn Palm Pre Ad? I want to strangle that bitch.... and that god damn Taco Bell ad that basically insults everyone with It's all about the dimes crap. O and every other ad being for new cars and the 4k of 'free' government money.. yeah... not free man.. not free...
I'm getting old I guess... yes 31, very old... but damn advertisers are creating the most random insanely stupid crap and it makes me wonder if it works? I honestly always liked Palm but their new ad makes me NOT want to buy their products. But then again I'm old and you need to get off my lawn and my 10Base-2 LAN son... (Yes I had one with Lantasic, and I ran OS/2 v3 and I loved it, going uphill both ways in the snow.)
Folks often refer to those stores as "Radio Sh*t", but now I guess they would say "The Sh*t." See what those PR folks did there? Pretty sneaky.
It's hard to believe that some actually asked this question. There are numerous companies out there that have much better parts at 1/10th of the price. Just to give a FEW ideas, check out these places.
Circuit Specialists - http://www.circuitspecialists.com/
All Electronics - http://www.allelectronics.com/
Mouser Electronics - http://www.mouser.com/
Digi Key - http://www.digikey.com/
SciFi Channel to SyFy Channel. Potential FAIL.
Palm to PalmOne and that other confusing crap. FAIL.
ValueJet to AirTRan. FAIL? Maybe not. I know I have to look up the name every time I fly to make sure I'm not accidentally flying them. Maybe it is a success.
Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC. FAIL? Has their business improved?
Arthur Anderson to Accenture. FAIL? We all know they still suck but people keep doing business with them so maybe a wash?
Puff Daddy to P Diddy to Diddy.
I guess it's hard to separate the WIN from the FAIL here. Is a rebranding the cause of the failure or a symptom? Probably a symptom most of the time. If the company still exists after rebranding, can that be attributed to the branding or other factors? Dunno. But it still seems like the kind of stupid, ineffectual, expensive yet mostly symbolic empty gesture made by companies in trouble who have nothing left in the idea bin.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Da Shack! I'm lovin' it!
Rad Hack's flaw was giving up on being THE store for electronic, A/V, and other technical components, cutting back on things like electronics kits in favor of pre-built robots, etc. Instead of maintaining a technical focus, they veered into a confusing mash of angles like prebuilt computers, TVs and video players, and cell phones.
I am one of few people that still go to RadHack for cables and rare items that would be marked up 200% at Best Buy or impossible to find. I don't know why anyone else goes there -- and I think that's their problem.
Other things I like about RS is that the staff usually only ask if you need help once, and aren't impossible to find when you DO need help finding something, and usually there is someone there who has a clue as to the arcane thing you are looking for.
Trying to be a miniature Best Buy, and leaving more than 75% of their small floors as open space, is their problem -- not branding. DIY is becoming vogue again, and they should try returning to their DIY roots.
Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
There's quite a mess with the RS name in Canada. RS Canada was operated by InterTAN, who sold it to Circuit City. Then Radio Shack sued InterTAN for breach of contract, and the Radio Shack name could no longer be used, so they rebranded it "The Source by Circuit City." And now, Radio Shack is apparently going to come into Canada opening stores under that name. Bizarre and annoying.
Sadly, before this silliness, Radio Shack (Canada, at least) had already declined from a cool store with a wide variety of electronics and parts, into a TV/Remote Control Vehicle shop, with a few gadgets and toys, and just a shadow of its former self.
Maybe the new Radio Shack can restore some of its former appeal. I'm not holding my breath.
We're hurting for electronics retailers in Canada, at least of the geeky kind. There's no major chain where you can pop in and buy a motherboard, for example (and I've had iffy success with small-time local dealers). Sigh.
I've visited a Fry's in the US before, and despite it having the same lack of appeal of most big box retailers, it did have things like motherboards and components; good selection, good price, so you hold your nose and buy :)
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
Where will we go to buy soldering irons and those RCA to headphone jack adapters now?
They are called Mini RCA and come in mono or stereo versions. The black bands at the base of the metal tells :-)
which you have. And as a fan of RadioShack you should have known this.
Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
"Radio Scrap". My dad had a very low opinion of their computers, everyone remembers when they made them right...
If they really did that, it was years after they intimidated Auto Shack to rename itself Auto Zone.
At least Rat Shack doesn't abuse design patents to try to stifle competition.
Hmm. Maybe the whole "Rat Shack" thing is the reason they're changing their name.... Won't work, though. We'll always jokingly refer to it as the Rat Shack. :-)
Dumb name or not, as long as they continue to sell component parts and soldering gun tips, I'll keep going there. They tend to carry the parts that Fry's doesn't and vice versa. If they drop that, I probably won't set foot in one ever again; they quite literally have nothing else of interest to me or anyone I know.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
The Jack Shack?
The last time I went into a Radio Shack, the only thing they sold were batteries and cellphones. Both salesmen looked at me like I was from Mars when I asked for a ferrite choke core.
I'm just glad to see they're picking a name that accurately reflects their current state.
of one of these 'The Shack' stores sitting next to one of 'The Hut'* restaurants.
* - IIRC, Pizza Hut is conducting the same bizarre obfuscation campaign.
I remember the 8-Bit days when people jokingly called their computers as Trash-80's when they were TRS-80. Tandy Radio Shack, and then they developed the TRS Coco or Color Computer to replace the TRS-80, and then later the Tandy 1000 IBM PCjr type PC Clone, et all. The Tandy 1000 IIRC used the PCJr sound and video chips but ran Tandy-DOS and Deskmate and used special expansion slots that weren't ISA compatible because of pinout changes. Gee I wonder why it failed? :)
Radio Shack was named after the part of a Navy Ship that had the Radio equipment in it. Those not in the Navy won't get the reference.
They should have called it eShack or Electronics Shack or something that sounds better than Shack or The Shack.
I recall every time I went to a Radio Shack they didn't have the part I needed in stock, and the catalog price was way expensive and I ended up finding a cheaper part somewhere else. The only thing neat about Radio Shack were their wireless controlled cars and toys that I would buy for my son, and hand held video games. I remember a friend of mine applied for a Radio Shack credit card and got a free hand held Black Jack game for signing up. I used to be a member of their "Battery Club" when I was a teenager, and every month I would get a free battery. I remember buying magnets from Radio Shack for science experiments and parts to make stereo speakers, etc.
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
"The Shack" isn't edgy or funny, it's just weird and dumb, especially because it will say NOTHING descriptive about the current business model or product offerings.
I disagree. To me, that says that it's a dilapidated joint that contains nothing, or whatever it does contain is nothing but junk.
Seems to describe the last Radio Shack I went into quite well. :-)
NewEgg doesn't sell eggs. You can't order a real Bengal from TigerDirect. You can't buy Micro Stars from MSI. and finally... Macintosh does not sell real Apples.
I noticed they placed a "SM" (Service Mark) not a "TM" (Trade Mark) next to "The Shack", which implies they will be selling services, not goods under the new brand.
If they really did that, it was years after they intimidated Auto Shack to rename itself Auto Zone.
At least Rat Shack doesn't abuse design patents to try to stifle competition.
Hmm. Maybe the whole "Rat Shack" thing is the reason they're changing their name.... Won't work, though. We'll always jokingly refer to it as the Rat Shack. :-)
Dumb name or not, as long as they continue to sell component parts and soldering gun tips, I'll keep going there. They tend to carry the parts that Fry's doesn't and vice versa. If they drop that, I probably won't set foot in one ever again; they quite literally have nothing else of interest to me or anyone I know.
Rat Shack? There's no T in radio. It was the Rad Shack, the totally tublular place we all hung out at during the 80's.
"Radio Schlock" might better describe the current version of this retailer. Junky, overpriced electronics, staffed by clerks with mediocre knowledge.
I don't know... I worked there ~2 years ago and did that sort of stuff all the time. I'm pretty good with a soldering iron, and it made me a ton of tips from people who thought electronics were wizardry.
I wasn't aware of the AutoShack/AutoZone thing. I was under the impression it happened in 1994 or so but according to wiki, it was 1997. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bianca.com
One wonders about the money laundry aspect...
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
I can still remember Anderson Consultants, but for the life of me I can't remember what they call themselves now.
It's now "Ass-Enter".
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
I could really go for a Fanta right now.
6.8SPC TR of 550, l xwind at 6, drift rt at 26" drops 77". AT has 503 ft-lbs at 1403 fps. FT 0.86
http://dribibu.xs4all.nl/dilbert19890511.html
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Tin roof..........rusted! Or perhaps it should say 'All my Radio Shack purchases..........busted!'
For grins I went to Radio Shack to check out ham radios. Not a one in the store, and the salesman was confused over why he'd even carry them. He was willing to sell me a CB, but I would have gone to a truck stop if I wanted one of those.
Uhhhh....right. Sounds just a *bit* fabricated to me. Especially the trip to Radio Shack and ESPECIALLY the 20 minutes thing.
I am an actual, honest-to-god RadioShack employee.
And having said that, 95% of the people who were reading my comment have just decided to move on to the next one without reading any more. Oh well, guess I should be used to such treatment considering RadioShack's overall image.
Anyway, for the two or three people who are still reading my comment, I am going to share my opinion on this change, along with some info that I know about it.
First off...I agree, it's stupid. This branding change won't help at all. I predict that it'll only last a year, maybe two years tops, then they'll drop it.
Now...with that said, here is what my district manager has told me about this "The Shack" thing:
This is not going to be an official company name change. The company and stores are still going to be officially called "RadioShack". This whole "The Shack" thing they're pulling out of their butts is just a sort of slang they've decided to tack on their branding to make the franchise look fresh, hip and energetic. Compare this to KFC. Everyone calls them KFC, but their official legal business name is still "Kentucky Fried Chicken". So, yes, they're gonna try to shove "The Shack" down everyone's throats, but the company and stores are still going to be officially and legally called "RadioShack". The employees aren't being required to get new uniforms or name tags that say "The Shack", and stores aren't being required to get new outdoor signage that says "The Shack". It's not an official name change...just something, as mentioned, they simply decided to tack on to appear cool.
That's all of the info I'm allowed to divulge at the moment. Trust me, there's more I wish I could tell you. RSHQ sent every store a little box of propaganda about the upcoming change that I'm just aching to discuss, but alas am not allowed to do so.
The Shack will be harder to find in searches. Just like i think Electrosol moving to Finish is horrible for them. You have something that differentiates, don't give it up.
Where will we go to buy soldering irons and those RCA to headphone jack adapters now?
Funny that you asked that. Last time I went to RS to buy RCA to headphone cable for my car stereo/ipod connection, they didn'have any. Because they didn't carry them anymore.
The store had some crappy tvs, cell phones, overpriced memory cards and cheaply made electronic chochki. No soldering irons or anything useful to makers.
Sad.
I swear that during the 80's they tried some other name change and people didn't know what to make of it. I don't remember the name, something like TRS or Tandy Stores or something. It didn't stick, so they had to go back to Radio Shack.
Everything you know is wrong, Just forget the words and sing along.
I remember years ago when radio shack used to carry lots of components, tools, quality audio gear, etc. The commercial/home electronics were of good quality as well. That is no longer the case. I used to collect their catalogs when I was a kid, make a list of parts I'd like.... I'd also read all of Forrest M Mims electronics publications from Tandy. The place just doesn't cater to the techie crowd/experimenter anymore. I used to have a batter club card...... at least that's how they are in Canada before Circuit City bought them over. Just a sign of the times I suppose... experimenters/do-it-yourself projects/etc, just not as economically viable for a store as they once were. Today I have to mail order everything I need for my electronics experiments. I used to like walking into a Radio Shack and purchase a logic chip or pack of LED's etc.
"Shack Electronics" was a store chain in the late 70's & 80's that was very similar and went out of business. IIRC, where was a lawsuit between the two chains. It's interesting that Radio Shack is taking on that identity. I hope that the chain doesn't go under, they are useful on occasion and carry products that no one else does anymore, at least out in suburbia.
bring back the tandy computer LOL
The perfect spokesman would be William Shatner. That way, you would have The Shack and the Shat.
Similar to the upcoming US election results
As crazy as it may seem I worked for Radioshack for about 4 1/2 years through and after college. I loved it. I wasn't the annoying clueless RS employee and my customers loved me for that. I could actually answer their questions and help them get exactly what they needed, even if it was some esoteric EE project. The manager at my store Paul, was a very intelligent and great guy which is also what made it enjoyable. It all falls apart after that though, the district meetings, the district managers, and the terrible vision for the company.
I was always in the top sales for my district by virtue of not being a douche so I was spared a lot of problems, but I still would get hassled for not having a high "attach rate" (adding on extras to orders and cell phones) or other such garbage. The company has no solid idea of how to move forward and they keep throwing spaghetti against the wall and hoping something sticks. All they need to do is become a true electronics store in every neighborhood staffed with knowledgeable people and decent prices.They've tried videogaming, TVs, computers, toys, etc. but never put enough money and time behind any of them to excel. So they just drop it and move on to the next big thing. Instead of crap zip Zaps and stuff start offering real hobby class radio controlled stuff and all the neat things RS used to carry.
http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
I vote that they change it to: Electron Hut.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Radio Shack has had a disturbing trend of forgetting who its customers are in an attempt to gain more footing in the consumer electronics market. They've been scaling back their hobby electronics supplies and scaling up on over priced cell phones, TVs, and home audio equipment. It's becoming a second rate walmart electronics department, only without the movies or music or video games, and therefore becoming less and less relevant.
perl -e "eval pack(q{H*},join q{},qw{70 72696e74207061636b28717b482a7d2c717b343 637323635363534323533343430617d293b})"
If I remember correctly, Pacific Bell acctually had to pay to license the name "Telesis" in that name change.
As in, it's a shock that they're still in business. I walked in there a couple weeks ago to grab some female RJ-45 jacks and they had them, sure...at $6.50 a piece. I turned right around out the door and ordered them for $1.60 from the internet (firefold.com...note that I am in no way affiliated with this site, I'm just a two-times satisfied customer). I guess that's the price you pay if you're in a pinch, but how the hell does this store survive in the age of Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and the Internet?
I'm surprised they're even still in business. When was the last time anyone shopped at a Radio Shack? Was it even in this past decade?
The only reason to go to Radio Shack:
+ You need an expensive knock-off version of a product you could find elsewhere of better quality.
+ You need a random electronic or electrical doo-dad or component that you could find cheaper elsewhere in your town if you spend 30 seconds looking at a phone book.
+ You enjoy handing over your private information every single time.
+ You get a lot of joy being hassled for a new cell plan or other promotion EVERY FUCKING TIME YOU HIT THE CASH REGISTER.
The Radio Shack in the mall by my house doesn't carry parts at all, so I went over to another location and when they didn't have the part they suggested the mall location. I told them "they don't sell parts there." So they picked up the phone and called to verify it. They had no clue.
Every time I go to the Shack - there is ALWAYS a dumb/lame consumer asking the local geek for advice. The Shack prays on these folks and makes GREAT money at it. I like it for the fast instant gratification of obtaining electronic components.
I retract my prior comment.
It would be better if they just hired employees who knew the difference between a can of deodorant and a can of tuner cleaner.
It's a great move on their part to make their name sound a bit "hipper" to the younger set.
When I went there with my dad in the early 60's (quite often, because he had a start-up going), it was already called The Shack by him, and in general usage with his fellow electronic geeks already.
73, The AC Ham
I think RadioShack is good if you need some adapters, cables, soldering irons, or electrical components. The last things I remember buying there were an audio adapter for airplane headphone jacks, some blue LEDs, a desoldering ribbon, and before that... an RF modulator.
I think you hit the nail on the head though by mentioning PC parts. If I need something like a CPU fan, RAM, a power supply, or something like that... I head to Fry's Electronics. But that's something that RadioShack should have been able to do if they had not been pushing Sprint phones and RCA receivers.
I guess you don't remember the Radio Shack commercials with Shaq in them...
Moving from a brick and morter storefront to a refillable machine similar to Redbox or the Motorola vending machine could be a great move. Ditch big ticket items like TVs and DVD players and focus on your core customer: people that need small, specific tech conveniently and affordably. With Redbox there's credit card accessability which means data connection, so a catalogue for large items could be viewed, purchased and matched for delivery with a local or regional service. Radioshack could cut their rent, inventory and staffing and shift their attention on offering products people need at locations where people are.
Because: "Radio Shack: You've got questions, we've got blank stares!"
640YB ought to be enough for anybody.
A few months ago I was told Pizza Hut was going to become 'The Hut'. I even remember a logo. I don't know what to believe anymore.
As always, Greed Will Out. I can't even express how dismal I've felt over the last 15 years whenever I walk by a Radio Shack. Any more I just refuse to enter as the whole front end of the stores are simply stark, deserted reminders of 21st century cellphone stupidity. When I was a teenager I had my Battery Club card so I could get a free battery for my radio or walkie-talkie and that lead me to discover Forrest Mims, ham radio and 741 op-amps and the utopia of the Parts Wall and the Coco III. No more. All gone. A couple of slag plastic bins and perhaps a switch or two and none of them light up. It sucks.
As far as I'm concerned, they can call it anything they want since to find a good world-band radio you have to hit the flea markets or yard sales anyway. Take the "Radio" out and call it "Fone Shack" or "2-Year Service Plan Crap Shack". So long as they don't try resting on their otherwise historically awesome laurels. I'll call it what it is: Radio Shite.
~Just as a thing fails if it lacks a kernel, so too it fails if it lacks a skin. ~ Rumi, Discourses
You know, where you can buy jacks and stuff.
There is already a shaq
http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/famecrawler/2008/02/kazaam-shaq-shaquille-oneal-suns.jpg
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2009/news/story?id=4349772
Hey look! An ESPN citation on Slashdot too!
Seriously, The [Radio]Shack has just replaced the United States Postal Service, and the nation of Kazakhstan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astana as the most interesting cycling team to follow in the Tour de France!
Anyone really considering the 're-branding' should consider carefully the saga of Datsun's change to Nissan -- that nearly killed the company and they are STILL trying to recover their lost glory.
The Temple of Low Tech. no money, don't sue please. English is my second language.
Easy, Fry's Electronics. They are the better Radio Shack. They are what Radio Shack should have grown to. You're lucky if your local RadShack even has solder these days. A 220uf/25V cap or a 2N2222?... NEVER! They lost my electronic hobbyist business years ago. I will never step into their stores ever again... unless I want skins for my Nokia. lame lame lame.. I hope they do rebrand! That's the sign of a sinking ship. Let it sink.
-=[ place
I can't find a link to back this up, but I swear Radio Shack attempted this once before (to the exact same name, even) years ago. It may have just been a regional SoCal thing. Regardless, it was short-lived.
Radio Hut (Hey, if it's good enough for Pizza and Sunglasses...)
Shack Attack (This name screams action, and encompasses the feeling of panic motivating most customers to shop there at the last minute)
Movie Theater Popcorn (This name conveys the convenience and prices offered, compared to their competition. EMBRACE YOUR BUSINESS MODEL!!!)
Cell Shack (Cell phones are kind of like radios, and let's admit it, isn't this want they really want to be?)
Radio Slut (Sex SELLS.)
Authority questions you. Return the favor.
Harbor Freight and Dollar Tree, respectively. Cheaper, and with great additional selection, albeit less convenient if you happened to need both items at the same time.
Seriously though, for electronic components "right now," I still visit "the Shack" and wish them well at continuing to exist in that less and less well-served niche. As for the rest of what they sell? They seriously need to keep re-evaluating until they find some items or services they can sell competitively in their stores... I know of no one who thinks "Radio Shack" for cellphones, computers, AV, etc... Here's a thought: certain small, rarer PC items could be stocked in a small store and sold at prices that are justifyably above bargain for the "right now" benefit. When I can get some standard USB cables at Dollar Tree, Radio Shack needs to sell all the varieties of USB this to USB that cables for $3... if they did, I'd have visited several more times in the last year, where I might have also noticed other decent deals on items I might need right after a failure, like a PSU, etc..
And I'd like a pony. :-) Still, I think the long-term customer relationship with anyone who needs electronic and computer bits where that person repeatedly buys there for the "have it now" benefit would be a better strategy than selling an overpriced computer to an unwary customer once in a while, who, after getting laughed at by their friends and family, never does that again.
They must share a marketing firm with The Hut (formerly know as Pizza Hut). God forbid you give somebody an idea what you sell at your store, even if it's not the only thing you sell.
Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do.
I bought a copy of Thexder and Leisure Suit Larry 2. Its too bad really. I have a feeling, they will spend money effecting this change, and all they will have to show for it are the bills for all the signs they had to replace. Whatever happened to selling games? I used to buy all my old sierra adventure games there. Three days before PC gaming started becoming actually popular they stopped carrying games. Friggin idiots. Oh well out with the old in with the new. Buhbye Radio Shack.
And this has been another installament of Captain Obvious!
Does this mean that venerable standards for data communications, such as RS-232 and RS-422 will now have to be renamed S-232 and S-422?
(...it's a joke ... get it?...get it?...)
...We ain't got shit. Seriously though, I was actually in a RS the other day analyzing the store a little while talking to a long-time clerk. People say that RS is trying to compete with Best Buy, et cetera; that's not quite it, in my opinion. What they are really doing here is setting up a national chain of third-party mobile phone stores.
When you walk into the typical RS, the front 30-40% of the store is almost entirely given over to mobiles and accessories. Looking at their website, the first item on the top menu bar is "Phones and Radio Communications" with the first item in that menu being "Accessories" (the highest-margin part of the mobile business). Every time I checkout, I get asked how long I've had my current mobile phone.
Not even considering the classic component selection, the other consumer electronics stuff is a distant second to mobile. The clerk I spoke with said they're lucky to sell a couple TVs per month. And why *would* they do any better than that, when Wal-Mart knocks the shorts off them in price?
Does the new business model piss me off as an electronics hobbyist? Yeah, sure it does. I wanted to get a power MOSFET the other day and the highest-voltage part they had was an IRF510. They carry silver solder, but no flux. Etchant but no copper-clad boards. However, I don't blame them if they aren't making any money selling that stuff.
In my opinion, there's one way left to make money on a retail electronics-as-in-making-them store. Forget about the mall, and set it up as a hobby-type shop where you put on classes, offer support, and so on. Similar in a sense to a traditional 'hobby'-type store like Michael's or Hobby Lobby; they sell cake decorating gear by putting on classes featuring said gear. In the right environment, say a college town, there's no reason that a small, owner-operated hobby electronics shop couldn't make it if they're not having to pay mall rents. Put on an Arduino workshop, and sell those suckers at 150% the usual markup. Passives assortments at $20/pop. Saturday-morning robot showoff session. Have a tiny lab in the store with a couple o-scopes and DMMs where people could come in and work on their projects for some nominal fee. Would it satisfy the profit desires of corporate America? No. But it'd probably pay the owner's mortgage...
>> Where will we go to buy soldering irons and those RCA to headphone jack adapters now?
Soldering Irons? RCA to Headphone adapters?
I thought RadioShack only sold cell phones and DirecTV? What gives?
Here in Texas we have Dreyer's (although we buy Blue Bell instead). I was doing a crossword puzzle and "Ben & Jerry rival" came out as "Edy". I thought I had something terribly wrong, but now it makes sense.
I don't think so. I read at length about the name change at the time it occurred, and no licensing was mentioned. As I said, they had paid a San Francisco ad agency the whopping sum of 750 grand to come up with that name; I doubt they would have paid so much if a part of it required licensing! Further, AT&T now owns the domain telesis.info. And finally, there's this, the proverbial nail in the coffin:
http://altlaw.org/v1/cases/444211
PTG actually sued another company, International Telesis Communications, for service mark infringement. ITC lost, so perhaps they licensed "Telesis" *FROM* Pacific Telesis. You might have had it backwards.
LOL, I work there. Unfortunately. Hopefully I will have another gig "real soon now." RadioShack died and The Shack was born on August 1. Would you be interested in a cell phone now? How do you like your carrier? Would you like to check and see if you're due for an upgrade? A resistor???? Resistor?? Does that work with a cell phone? It's rather pathetic.
Wherever you go, there you are.
Yes, I remember it fondly. I eventually paid for a lifetime membership. Yeah, funny in a way....
I think the whole reason they've prospered is not competing with the big boxes.
The big box formula is about economies of scale. Big stores = low prices = high volume.
They also mean a longer drive.
I bet it's one of those business models that happen by accident. You have a store that caters to a small but widespread group. So your store stocks things that they can't get easily. It can't be big, because there aren't enough of them. Then people come in to buy other things like TV aerials and whatnot. So why not sell them other things that go with the TV? There's a lot more people who buy TV cables and stuff than capacitors and soldering irons.
Probably the most important thing Radio Shack sells is batteries. You need a bunch of batteries, and maybe some of them are odd. Probably the drug store's got them, but if they don't you're out of luck and the people won't know what you're talking about. The big box electronic chain almost certainly has them, but that's ten miles away and there's a radio shack in the shopping plaza two miles away. That's exactly the same reason that sends the geek there to get a roll of solder.
Even if the Radio Shack is in a mall anchored by a big box electronic store, even if that store puts the batteries right up by the registers, it's still faster to dash into Radio Shack, and if the price is a bit higher, it's still cheap enough.
Then when you're there, you see this r/c toy and you remember little Timmy's birthday is coming up. Or you ask the friendly salesman a question about that phone you spotted on the way in. These guys may not have MIT Course 6 degrees when it comes to technical knowledge, but they're nearly always friendly and eager to be informative within the limits of their ability.
And so a successful business model is born. It's the same thing that keeps local hardware stores stocking an impressive assortment of nuts and bolts. I can go to Lowes or Home Depot and they'll have a larger selection, but the local store almost certainly has what I need and the small scale and attentive service gets me out the door fast with my $2 of purchases fast, and that matters when I'm in the middle of a project. And often I'll also have $20 of things I purchased because they caught my eye.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
this rumor is true i work at what i will now call The Shack, and it is already undergowing its transformation from Radio Shack to The shack. i actually starting changing a vast amount of signs today
I only hate Radioshack because I work here.
The whole rebranding thing is just a marketing push, the sign out front will always say RadioShack. Don't get too excited nothing is really changing. The non-sale batteries and cable will still be overpriced. The camera's, computers, TVs, and cell phones will still have some of the best prices at any brick and mortar (actually price check this before whining about overpriced merch). The employees will always push cellphones because that is the only way to make money/keep your job.
If you are a young technically savvy person you probably don't need lots of the stuff at RadioShack, but there is something you need that you don't want to wait for shipping and can't find at a big box. Try getting real tech support or knowledge at a big box (without ahving to pay for it).
Working here sucks, but we serve a demographic that needs our help.
Only in a marketing meeting would this seem like a good idea to anybody.
OOh!! I know! Next we'll have the attack of the 40-foot iPhone!
And about an hundred square feet of empty space around the ten square feet of cell phone displays at the front of the store. You could play tag football in the front of some Radio Shacks.
Seriously, it's like morons have designed their stores. I want to forcible walk them through other stores. and say 'You guys see these other stores? With shoulder high shelves running from front to back, with occasional variations and gaps in them?'
Yeah, see, what happens is that different people want to buy different things, and if you actually have those things, people will buy them. In smaller and mall stores, people have mostly settled on rows of shelving, low enough that people can see over them, organized in some logical grouping. This lets you have maximum selection without overwhelming people. Bigger stores have taller, but wider, aisles, and you could try that instead. But some manner of 'shelving' would allow you to actually sell a lot of different things.
Whereas when you, OTOH, have decided to have tiny pillars holding cell phones, surrounded by a bunch of empty space so that people can see your cell phone displays from thirty fucking feet away. See, the flaw in that logic is it fails utterly if, for example, they don't want to buy a cell phone. They aren't going to decide to buy a cell phone instead of your stuff, because they cannot use a cell phone instead of a wall-mounted network jack, which is what they were intending to buy, but have already left to go to Home Depot to get one.
I know you understand shelves, because you usually cram a few in the back 25% of the store, but, you see, that's really too little, because the cell phone thing is only useful if people want to buy a cell phone anyway. And, believe it or not, almost no one goes to Radio Shack to buy a fucking cell phone...we go to the cell phone store, you idiots. You know, those things in the middle of the aisle in the mall? Or two doors down from you at the strip mall?
If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
This reminds me of Pizza Hut changing their name to The Hut.
.... You've got questions.... We've got cellphones!
chown -R us
how many telegraphs will you use today?
Your computer is a telegraph. Your mobile phone is a telegraph. Anything that sends or receives text using a modulated signal is a telegraph.
we have massively scaled out server systems that are (software-wise) closer to microcomputers than minis or mainframes.
I thought the defining feature of a mini over a micro was that a mini had virtual memory. An i386-family 32-bit CPU acts a lot more like a VAX minicomputer (if you know x86 asm, see how many of these elements of vaxocentrism still apply) than like the 8- and 16-bit micros that preceded it.
Breyers isn't an east coast brand, it's sold on the west coast too.
But I'd bet Unilever (owner of Breyers) probably has an agreement with Nestlé (owner of Dreyer's) that Nestlé won't use the Dreyer's name outside Dreyer's historical home territory.
First thing I have to say... don't know if I should but I am going to anyway..... I WORK AT A "Radio Shack".... yes i said it ... i regret it already. kinda...
.. "The Shack" ... Kinda like "Burger King" is referred to as "BK".... lets hope this reference does not kill them. I also hope they do not Change the name to "The Shack".
Ok that is out.... I have been there over 2yrs longer than I ever wanted to be... Lots has changed... Yes they are becoming and they say they are a wireless phone store... Decent prices if you need a get a new/upgrade with Sprint or ATT and this month T-Mobile. Accessory selection I have to say sucks.
Why in the reference change to "The Shack" who knows... They say people have been referring to them as "The Shack" For some time now.... I have not heard that and I have worked at one for over 2 yrs now. (cough... BC, NV....) cough...I desperately NEED/want a different job...cough Pay sucks because of the way they do commission. Pays alright when you shove service plans on people and accessories and a new phone to everyone that comes into the store...... I want out of retail/sales so badly.
At the moment they are just want to brain wash people into calling "Radio Shack"
Manager/s think it is stupid, Sales Associates(me and others) think its stupid.
Do not be surprised when "Radio Shack" no longer carries small parts. Do not be surprised either if it hurts "Radio Shack"s reputation. Making it sound ghetto by wanting to be called "The Shack"
That is my 2cents as a Sales Associate that desperately needs a different job. Recently got an Associates Computing and Info Tech, and now am going for Bachelors In programing.
I hate it when companies turn their back on a long and proud history because of some brain dead idea by the latest marketdroid. Sure, there are some cases when it has to be done. But then there are cases like this when it is plain stupid.
I've bought three things at Radio Shack in the last 5 years -- (1&2) two digital cameras on the same day, they were Xmas gifts and Radio Shack had them the cheapest! Jacked up SD card price, and they were pushing a bundle that included a printer that used ridiculously expensive ink. I declined and bought a Brother somewhere else. (3) a WiFi repeater that didn't work for shit. That went back the next day.
To the credit of the employees, they didn't seem to mind taking a return. They just checked the box to make sure everything was there, and did a chargeback. I did have to wait, but that's more understaffing (management problem) than an issue with the employees. I have found one way to speed through the line at Radio Shack is to stare longingly at anything expensive. That will get some assistance REAL quick. They'll practically drag you to the register if you say "yes" when they walk up and ask if you are ready to complete your purchase. They think they're closing the deal on whatever you were staring at, when all you actually want is what's in your hands, or maybe their display case. :)
I have completely given up on them as a source for anything small and more challenging than a 1/8"-to-RCA cable. I'm actually all right with them charging $7 for a cable that Parts Express has for $2.50, that's why they're the 7-11 of gadgetry. JUST HAVE IT WHEN I NEED IT.
Mal-2
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
This could cause some confusion with the Love Shack chain of adult toy stores
If you must moderate, please moderate as irrelevent, not something bad, because I'm sure someone will find this interest
""The Shack" isn't edgy or funny, it's just weird and dumb, especially because it will say NOTHING descriptive about the current business model or product offerings."
Perhaps that's the point - it means they can now get into any other business they want? Cross-marketing synergy and all that? Pick and choose the profitable fields rapidly? Cut all your roots and become a sort of virtual floaty thing?
Yeah, I don't think it's smart, but I can see how generic non-trade-relatedness could be seen as an asset in a certain light.
You are not a brain: http://books.google.com/books?id=2oV61CeDx-YC
The ultimate in noncommittal business models, eh? Well, I am a fan of generalized solutions to problems, so I guess I should cut them some slack for being so ambiguous then?
Nah! It's just weird and dumb. ;-)
Everyone I know already refers to them as "Radio Trash" (and has been since the '80s) and it's way too late to break that habit.
(Having said that, I have to admit that I still have a couple of RS products that have served me well over the years: a little Realistic STA-12 AM/FM receiver and a pair of those excellent Minimus-7 speakers. I may dump the receiver one day but the speakers will probably still be around for years.)
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
What on earth is going on? Pizza Hut is now "The Hut" and Radio Shack is now "The Shack"? There's a couple other things that renamed themselves in such a matter but I can't remember. This is a little ridiculous...
Radio Shack has been a glorified cell phone store for 10 years now. All managment cares about is cell phone sales numbers. The chargers, soldering irons, etc. don't have the margins they want and have become more of a relic of their heritage and a nuisance than the slim profit they make on them warrants.
Sorry guys. Better, cheaper stuff is available on the internet than RS can sell it for.
I'll miss Radio Shack, but its time has passed.
In related news I hear Pizzahut is changing there name to just "The Hut"... seriously...
Also as already mentioned, they changed names up here in Canada to "The Source" some time ago... however they may be bankrupt now, so perhaps that didn't work out so well. (Though I am pretty sure it had little to do with the name, and a lot to do with the service/product)
Comment removed based on user account deletion
But I guess that would not be that good since most of the electronics are now made in China, So call it China Chack or Pac Rim Shack ??
Paul E. Bahre
I cry every time I go into a Radio Shack these days. I just hope they die soon. If they re-brand, it should be "cheap remote cars central", or "would you like to join our battery club?"
As many have mentioned - this has been the surefire place to get the connectors and diys stuff you need right away. Plus - Circuit City mini plug 1 ft. connector (in white of course) 19.95! 5 doors down - Same exact RS connector (except in black) - 2.98. And now CC is gone- wonder why?
(sorry for the bad pun)
Did you mount a military-grade, variable-focus MASER on an unlicensed artificial intelligence?
RadioShack is not changing ther name. why dont you people read in to it a little more. It is a sales slogan. We gave our shelves a nickname. The BK for burger king.Coke for cokacola. Its a name our customers and workers have been calling us for years. radio shack also sells more cell phones then any other national 3rd party dealer in the entire world. We have been selling them for over 10 years. we still also offer all the parts batteries fuses and wires that our older customers still come in for. radio shack has been around for 90 years. They know what they need to do to stay in the game. How many electronic stores do you know of that have been open longer than 20 years. so many have come and gone. but radioshack has always been in the picture. Smart Staff. Good prices. Great value...so best buy. lets see if you can make it another 70 years.