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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 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.)
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.
The selection is the same? Really? When was the last time you bought an op-amp at Wal-mart?
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!
I used to buy parts 'at the last minute' at the rat shack. now, I don't even bother looking anymore and instead just hit up the only valid mailorder places left: digikey, mouser, newark are the big 3.
their parts are cheap enough, they work, they web ordering works and the selection is world class (literally, many people across the world order parts FROM the US distributors and even pay VAT/customs to receive the pkg).
I go into a rat shack and I see candy, cellphones and an ever dwindling parts selection.
they don't even carry x10 powerline remote stuff anymore (that used to be a stable at the shack).
I might as well turn in my radio shack battery club card:
http://www.antiqueradios.com/gallery/v/temp/battofmonth2.jpg.html
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
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.
Actually, they still sell logic chips and miscellaneous electronic components, albeit fairly well-hidden in the back of the store. I had a last minute idea for a project for a summer camp group I was leading last week and was able to pick up all the components I needed from RadioShack. Admittedly, the selection isn't what it used to be, but it's still there when you have a sudden pressing need for resistors, LEDs, transistors and capacitors....
Who knows what this "rebranding" will do for that section of the store....
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
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
And when your paper, project, etc. is due Monday morning, and your CPU fan or PSU dies Friday night, you really have time for a online purchase...
There are some things that you just have to have *now* and even if it costs you $5-10 more than the online item, having it after a 30 min drive and short walk is worth it.
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
I think they should change their name to "Hz So Good."
Rebranding Circuit City as "The City" worked well for Circuit City?
Is there some Consultant on the loose recommneding this?
Every time I went into the Source (Radio Shack in Canada since someone still owns the name) and went to that section, the guy would always come over assuming I was stealing batteries or some remote control doodad because no one ever goes into that section anymore.
I remember that exact article, and you are right. I think RS does well in small markets (like where I am from) that doesn't have any of the big-box stores and tends to cater to customers who were told "I need a USB cable" but don't know what that is or where to get one. They expect they'll get marginally better (knowledgable) service than Wal-Mart with less hastle. Last time I was there in California a lot of people were paying the cellular bill there, which I don't understand why anyone would pay their bill in person when there are a lot more efficient method(s).
I think they key for them is that crowd, and the "I need it now so I'll pay a little extra" or the "I'll pay a little extra not to stand in line at wal-mart where the person in front of me wants to send a Money Order and buy a carton of cigarettes they have to get from the counter on the other end of the store."
They also do well when you're looking for esoteric batteries like for cameras, hearing aids, etc. They're also pretty good at having odd cables at decent prices (amongst other brick-and-mortars) such as a male-male 1/4" stereo cable for the AUX jack in newer cars. They are also good when you're traveling and need said odd batteries or a cell charger.
Forgive my spelling from time to time. I'm often posting during short breaks.
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
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.
1) The workers make minimum wage plus commission.
2) They specialize in items with a high profit margin. And then they mark them up.
3) They attach themselves to "hot items" that suddenly everyone needs. Most recent example: digital converter boxes have been huge business.
4) They cut costs like crazy. The CEO famously sold off all their plants to employees to save them money on maintaining them. Et cetera.
5) They're everywhere, they're convenient. If you need something specific and relatively common, chances are the RadioShack is closer to where you live and small enough that, unlike, say, Fry's, you don't have to wander around a big box for 30 minutes.
I don't believe in time. It's a grand conspiracy designed to sell watches.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
You could always buy potentiometers there.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
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-
Hey, that's one of my favorite pass times. There isn't many things I enjoy more in the mall than walking into RadioShack, being approached by an employee offering to help me find something, and telling him exactly what it is that I want. The look of confusion, horror, and dulling of the eyes as DUMMY MODE moves to the ON position makes me smile on the inside.
Vol~
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.
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.
As bad as Radio Shack's prices are, they're still cheaper than Best buy...