RadioShack Near Deal To Sell Half of Its Stores, Close the Rest

mrspoonsi sends a Bloomberg report about a possible endgame for RadioShack. The company will reportedly sell half its store leases to Sprint, and the remaining stores will simply close. Negotiations are still underway, and the deal could fall through — but as it stands, the stores still open will likely change to Sprint's branding. Sprint and RadioShack also have discussed co-branding the stores, two of the people said. It’s also possible that another bidder could emerge that would buy RadioShack and keep it operating, the people said. The Chinese backers who took the Brookstone chain out of bankruptcy, Sanpower Group, also have been in discussions about bidding for RadioShack assets, one person familiar with the talks said. ... The discussions represent the endgame for a chain that traces its roots to 1921, when it began as a mail-order retailer for amateur ham-radio operators and maritime communications officers. It expanded into a wider range of electronics over the decades, and by the 1980s was seen as a destination for personal computers, gadgets and components that were hard to find elsewhere.

Comments

shame

[ihtoit]

I was so upset when Tandy closed up shop in England, they had the best gear in - not to mention the Battery Club which kept me in PP3s for a decade.

Re:shame

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Unfortunately, the Radio Shack you miss already bled to death and has been dead for some time. At this point the only nod to their heritage is that some locations might have a dusty selection of parts(often still 'Tandy' branded and yellowing with age) hidden behind the iphone cases and overpriced consumer electronics.

Re:shame

[Euler]

Very true. As a kid in the '80s, I really enjoyed Radio Shack. It was more than just a store. It was a culture. They had the battery club, the cheesy comic book, store catalog, toys, science kits, DIY audio parts for your car or home, anything radio, various loose parts for electronics projects. We were fighting the Soviets and science education was a priority. There was no internet to turn to. If you were patient, you could mail order the part you needed or rummage through a local surplus store. But Radio Shack had it on the shelf for $0.99 - even if that happened to be 500% markup. It was worth it.

Hard to decide...

[Anonymous Coward]

... if I'm sad or happy about this.

Back when I was a kid, Radio Shack was a place where you could buy electrical components. Sure, they sold RC cars and stuff at the front, but at the back you could buy breadboards, wires, resistors, capacitors, microchips, etc. it was great.

In the past 15 years, most of that good stuff is gone: Radio Shack is nothing more than a non-denominational mobile phone store.

So, since they aren't much different than, say, Best Buy, or any number of other similar retailers, it's no wonder they are going under.

If they still sold components, I'd mourn their loss. Since they don't, I'm not sure I'll be shedding any tears.

Allied

[ScrewMaster]

Most of you probably don't remember back in the sixties when Radio Shack was the retail distribution arm of Allied Radio (yes, it was known as Allied Radio Shack), a major components distributor. It was a real parts store the. Eventually Tandy picked up the chain, began selling branded parts, and it was never quite the same. The reality is that the advent of the personal computer, the death of manufacturing in the U.S., and an educational system that no longer valued engineering skills combined to kill the electronics hobbyist market that the Radio Shack depended upon. Their change of focus to consumer electronics was a reflection of that new reality, but unfortunately that is a saturated market. This was, alas, a long time in coming.

Re:Sad...

[bill_mcgonigle]

but they just don't have anything to offer anymore

First Radio Shack sold radios, which enabled technically-savvy people to communicate.

Then Radio Shack sold simple computers, which enabled technically-savvy people to run applications to improve their lives.

Now, everybody carries an advanced radio/computer in their pocket, they're sold at RadioShack, and the nerds declare a tragedy.

Re:and the Sprint places will dump all of the non

[bobbied]

So, nothing changes except they wall off the back 1/3rd of the store?

article is misleading?

[rewindustry]

ars technica makes the point that neither radio shack nor sprint are willing to comment on this story, let alone confirm it.

http://arstechnica.com/busines...

Re:Farewell, TRS-80

[raymorris]

Michael Jordan having 'retired,' with $40 million in
endorsements, makes $178,100 a day, working or not.

If he sleeps 7 hours a night, he makes $52,000 every
night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head.

If he goes to see a movie, it'll cost him $7.00, but
he'll make $18,550 while he's there.

If he decides to have a 5-minute egg, he'll make
$618 while boiling it.

He makes $7,415/hour more than minimum wage.

If he wanted to save up for a new Acura NSX
($90,000) it would take him a whole 12 hours.

If someone were to hand him his salary and
endorsement money, they would have to do it
at the rate of $2.00 every second.

He'll probably pay around $200 for a nice round
of golf, but will be reimbursed $33,390 for
that round.

He'll make about $19.60 while watching the 100- meter dash in the
Olympics, and about
$15,600 during the Boston Marathon .

This year, he'll make more than twice as much
as all U.S. Past presidents for all of their
terms combined.

Amazing isn't it?

However...
If Jordan saves 100% of his income for the next
500 years, he'll still have less than Bill Gates has
at this very moment.

Game over. Nerd wins.