Radio Shack - buh-bye

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Sooner Boomer

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Looks like the old Rat Shack is about to sail into the sunset. At the end of the day Thursday, shares closed at $0.26. From the USA Today stock page (https://www.usatoday.com/money/lookup/stocks/RSH/), they had a terrible past two years. Bankruptcy and sale for assets can only be just around the corner.

They've received a lot of criticism in the past several years for not having a definitive brand image, as being little more than cell phone resellers.

I remember the first "Radio Shack" I went into. It was a few aisles in a Clark's dept. store in Abilene, TX, in (I think 1969). The salesman in charge of that section (I think they moved him over from shoes) was clueless about anything and everything electronic. They improved.

Growing up in a small town in Southern Oklahoma, I was centrally located in the middle of nowhere. Radio Shack was one of the small bright spots of technology, then. It was a franchise store, not a company-owned, and I think that gave the manager a bit more flexibility about what and how much he carried. I got the electronic experimenters kits for Christmases and birthdays. I think I built just about every one of the so-called "P-kits" they sold. The great thing about Radio Shack was, that wherever you went in the US, there was probably a store nearby.

Even though it's been a while since I've been in one, I'm going to miss them when they're gone. There's no where else close by for the sorts of stuff, the connecters, and wires, and parts, and bits of stuff that they carry. Sure, I can mail order stuff off of the internet, and probably even cheaper, but I'm old fashioned - I like to hold things in my hand and look at them before I buy them.

And I've bought a LOT of stuff from them over the years. Just looking around the room, there are speakers, wires, digital thermometer, (X-10) remote control stuff, calculators, headphones. Plus there are storage totes out in the garage full of parts and bits I've accumulated. There's even a CoCo2, new in box. I could go on for a while about how my life was touched by this company, but I think you get the picture. Gonna miss 'em.
 
Yeah I agree I used to LOVE Radio Shack but that was a decade or two ago already... Since then, they seemed to just flush themselves down the toilet.

Used to you'd go in there and find somebody, usually several somebodies, who knew WAY more about electronics that you did, even if you were pretty knowledgeable about it. Last time I was in there I had to work around the fumbling numbskull in my way to find what I wanted, and I'm a rank amateur... (all I needed were some LED indicators, resistors, and copper-clad microclips, but this buffoon didn't know what ANY of that stuff was and just kept trying to get me to look at cell phones and junk I had NO interest in buying from them).

If you went in the store to "look around" you ended up with about three high-pressure sales dorks following you around trying to steer you toward the cell phones and toys and stuff... mostly their version of cheap RC stuff. It got VERY old. If you went in looking for something, they didn't have it or didn't know what it was or both, but they SURE wanted you to look at their cell phones and junk! So I basically quit going to RS...

Sad... but when companies lose their niche and lose their identity, that's what happens...

Later! OL JR :)
 
My local Radio Shack folded a few months ago.

I went to another nearby one recently, and the clerk there didn't know what European-style terminal blocks were...
 
My Rat Shack memory is the big 5 D-cell flashlight that they gave away each year around Christmas. No telling how many of those my brother and I had over the years. Every kid in the neighborhood got one and for a few nights you could see them chasing each other through all the backyards. Then we got the bright idea to shine them at cars, got chased into the woods, and were shocked when we were fingered as the culprits. Like anyone else had been each other chasing around that whole week.
Speaking of the flashlights, after I graduated from college a bunch of my friends who were still in school flew down to Florida to spend a long weekend in the condo of another friend. My buddy Jerry found one of the big flashlights, fully loaded and charged, (much as he was.) He turned it on and started pretending it was a lightsaber, making the requisite "frrrt, frrrt, frrrt" noise as he swiped it around menacingly. One one particularly energetic "frrrt" the end of the flashlight came off and the five D-cells flew cross the room and buried themselves in the living room drywall. Jerry was stunned. Rick was pissed. Everyone else thought it was well worth the price of admission.
 
I gotta say, I saw this coming. Years ago I'd go in and could find all sorts of --Just Stuff--switches, lights , lights with switches and so on. I went back a couple years ago and --nuttin--no gadgets--no gizmos and not a darn thing I could take over the world with, just phones and really ratty RC stuff. I've been there a few times since--different locations, and didn't find what I needed. Being in retail I asked the clerk/ sales person/only person in the store-- how they liked working there. Every one of them hated it and every one of them told me the same L O N G story. To make a long story short, it sounded like a lot of folks upstairs, not listening to the customers or the folks downstairs, made some bad choices and stuck with it. To make matters worse, it seems there was a total lack of respect for the store level people. They were pretty disgusted. That's not rare in retail !! But these people were REALLY over it !! Heck, R.S. may have outlived it's usefulness . You can get about anything you want online these days.That said, it sure would be nice to have a store that you could go to and touch and feel and figure out what you want. Not on every corner but 50 or 60 miles from each other. Bigger box destination stores.
 
Mrs. OD and I went to the supermarket today and passed the Radio Shack in the parking lot. For about a week now, the signs in the window have been touting the 70% sale prices and still the traffic was light.

We both observed that the wrong turn Radio Shack took was when then decided to get into the cellphone business and get out of the electronic parts business. I studiously avoided Radio Shack when I needed parts because the cellphone sales pressure was simply too annoying. Went to an actual electronics parts store instead which is still in business and doing just fine, thank you very much.
 
Not so fast......

https://www.fool.com/investing/gene...-corporation-wont-go-out-of-business-jus.aspx

Granted, I too always thought of "The Shack" as a go-to place for all other things that can't be found in most places. Unfortunately, over the years, they did seem to have sold out to a different kind of buyer. Late last year that crappy home theater I bought, bit the dust and I wanted to go back to a less complicated standard stereo system. Guess who was the only store in town that had one?

It seemed to be about the smartest place to go when you needed a new tube for your television, amplifier or radio. I remember they had those Heath Kits for scratch building electronic gadgets. They were where I got most of my RCA connectors and wires from. Plugs for my guitar cords, potentiometers, rheostats and other misc hard to find items.

I hope the story above holds some truth to it, because I'd hate to see an icon like that fade away. I did a fair amount of business with RS. The folks that work the store we have, have always been very kind to share their knowledge and input on anything electronic, and they weren't like as described above, pushy and such. I guess it depends on where you live.

Funny you should mention Clark's dept store. We had one of those in Charlotte. I never knew that was a chain.
 
Well if Yellow Roadway Corp can pull out of a slump of less than $.14/share Radio Shack could probably do the same.
 
Last time I want to my local Radio Shack, one of the clerks recommended I go to an electronics shop down the street where they actually had a very knowledgeable staff.
 
Even though RS had become more than a little annoying to visit over recent years, I am still going to miss the place. I still went there for the occasional electronic part or if I needed solder on the way home from work.

No other retail option for these things on the way home from work.

I did stop by this week and pick over the place a little when things hit 50% off. Got a Canon EOS Rebel T3i for a lot less than anyplace on line, plus a few memory cards. Stocked up on solder....:)
 
It wasn't too long ago that Chrysler was selling for 10 cents per share so I suppose there's hope?
 
Instead of “You’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Answers” the reality is “You’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Blank Stares.”
 
I always hated going in there and buying something that cost less than $2 and it was like I was buying a car. They asked for all kinds of info, just take my money and give me a receipt. They have gotten better, but I agree, they have not adapted. They have no identity what so ever. They could be huge if they had adapted into the make space. Could you imagine if they were mini maker spaces? Offer up 3-D printing services and what not? They really dropped the ball on that one. They should have partnered with Spark Fun, and Rasberry PI. At least they have some Aurduino stuff, but they were late to that party. They need new vision and new leadership.
 
I don't think the customer base is compatible with the corporate world. That is, the typical Radio Shack customer doesn't fit the preferred demographic - they're not as predictable nor as easily lured by advertising.

That said, I've found my stores here well stocked, and staffed by competent people. I can't complain about the customer experience other than the prices, but when there are few other choices, they can charge what they want.

I did watch them fade in just about every single hot niche over the years. They couldn't compete in the stereo years of the late 70's. Later, in the 80's, they got out of computers when the competition was too stiff. They also didn't stick it out in their TV stores (at malls, can't recall the store names - not Radio Shack). That is, they seem to have always been unwilling to go toe-to-toe in any fast growing sector when the margins started getting thin.

As for the nerdy stuff, the good news is, most towns have at least one mom-n-pop electronics store. St Louis has Gateway, Dallas has Tanner's, Louisville has (had?) Olsen's. You could get a PC mother board, a CD, 22 ohm resistors, and your favorite alligator clips all under the same roof.

Also, some towns have Fry's, which is truly Nerdvana. They have several acres under roof of everything I just listed. Altho I don't think Fry's has enough stores to have affected Radio Shack. But here in the DFW area where there are multiple stores, they probably had some affect on the local RS stores.

In Radio Shack's defense, overall, the retail electronics business is struggling. Circuit City went bye-bye a few years ago. Best Buy is struggling, and closing stores. So seeing Radio Shack struggle is consistent with the current business climate.

I'd hate to see them completely close up shop - I still use them often enough - but if they do, I'll understand.

Doug

.
 
Growing up in a small town, I was thrilled when one opened. Finally, a place to buy parts for tinkering. I remember when owning your own 'plain old telephone' became legal (early '70's?) and RS began selling used rotary sets imported from someplace. I still have it.
Over the years it was disappointing to see the shift, and long ago I turned elsewhere to get my parts - they had little of anything I wanted or needed when I needed it.
 
I think I remember reading somewhere that over 90% of the population of the US lived within 5 minutes (or so) of a Radio Shack. Certainly, it was hard to land in a town that didn't have one.

I remember going with my Dad to pick up electronics parts for things that he would fix, and yes, when we bought that wonderful Trash-80 with the whopping 16k of memory (none of that piddly 4k of memory for us!).

I can't imagine the electronics parts biz was ever a huge seller, which was why (annoyingly/out of necessity) they seemed to follow every electronics fad. I think that resulted in a very diffuse identity with the general public, and annoyed their loyal base. Anyway, it ain't over 'till it's over, but much of the high profit margin stuff (computers, phones, etc.) have already been locked up by bigger corporations, so I don't see an easy way out of this.
 
I hit my neighborhood Shack up once or twice a month for little things I need to move a project along. Not a great selection anymore, but I'm recognized by the staff, so they not only leave me alone, but throw me a nice little 10% frequent-shopper discount. Maybe I'm part of the problem!
The Onion has a BUNCH of great articles on the chain (just search their site for "Radio Shack"), but this is my all time favorite, and it's from 7 years ago!
https://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/
 
dab41b30979e012f2fe400163e41dd5b
 
I'm less nostalgic and more about current needs. When I am working on a project and need some basic part... Radio Shack is usually the most practical place to get the part without stopping for days to get it in mail-order.

But on the flip side, they do not have the choice of parts that they used to. And I am not talking about outdated parts like vacuum tubes. Heck, they stopped carrying a little piezo beeper about 2 years ago that I have used for decades. Ended up getting a dozen from China on eBay for about $5-6, which was less than the cost of two from Radio Shack. So, more and more of my electronic parts money has gone to "not Radio Shack". Usually not because I'm trying to save $, but I'm stocking up on parts I expect I'll need later because I know I can't get them at RS anymore.

IIRC it was about a year ago that they decided to change from having about 4,000 items to sell in the stores, to aobut 3,000. Oh, GREAT, I figured the thousand they'd dump would be more like parts and less like cell phone stuff that you can get cheaper at Wal-mart or the internetz.

Their management style has been totally unfocused. One article I read a year or two ago was bascially a new CEO comes in, makes changes more in the order to reflect he's put his "stamp" on it, but it's never anything fundamental like they need. So when he gets replaced, he still has Radio Shack on is resume, not as a bad thing but a badge of honor or something like that. Almost like they come in "serving duty" as CEO for a year or two rather than with the approach to save the company for the long term.

IIRC, about a year and a half ago, they had a clearance sale on Arduino stuff.... which I missed out on as I was not into Arduino yet. But then somebody changed their mind, they have Arduino stuff back again. But the flip-flopping is an indication of the bad management at the top, they killed whatever momentum they were originally having by adding Arduino to begin with..

The Super Bowl commercial last year sent the most ironically wrong message. They had 1980's icons like Mary Lou Retton and ALF. "Out with the 80's" was the message. Well, D***, I WISH I could still have the 1980's Radio Shack again, with the kind of parts selection they used to have (and again I do not mean ancient outdated parts). So the message might as well have been "We used to be very successful, but now we are the "New" Radio Shack with less and less uniqueness". Reminds me of the "New Coke" fiasco.

A Joke I have told people is this. Do you know why I cannot get a job at Radio Shack? Because I *DO* know about electronics. SIGH.

- George Gassaway
 
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It’s funny all the stories in the big media outlets about the troubles Sears and K-Mart and Radio Shack and Macy’s etc are having, yet ALCO, a company with close to 200 stores nine of them here in Oklahoma, located in 23 states recently went bankrupt closing ALL of their stores and laying off God knows how many employees; and from the media?

Almost nothing.

I guess if it only happens in small towns located in “Flyover Country” it isn’t important.
 
Too bad RS began to catch on (slightly) to the fairly recent "Maker" movement too late. They were originally a source for "need it now" electronic hobbyist parts and stuff for ham radio, CB, and SWL hobbyists. Then, when those started to fade in popularity thanks to PCs and cell phones and the Internet came along making the ordering of electronic parts via mail much easier, they switched over to selling stuff that everyone else was selling - cell phones and batteries - relegating much of their e-hacker parts to their (poor) web site and not stocking them in stores. Why order from them when there are far superior sources online (Mouser, DigiKey, etc.) with vastly better web sites, parts selection, and parts search functions? I'm surprised they've lasted this long.
 
I always hated going in there and buying something that cost less than $2 and it was like I was buying a car. They asked for all kinds of info, just take my money and give me a receipt. They have gotten better, but I agree, they have not adapted. They have no identity what so ever. They could be huge if they had adapted into the make space. Could you imagine if they were mini maker spaces? Offer up 3-D printing services and what not? They really dropped the ball on that one. They should have partnered with Spark Fun, and Rasberry PI. At least they have some Aurduino stuff, but they were late to that party. They need new vision and new leadership.

Yep... forgot to mention that one...

Go to check out a few bucks worth of LED's and stuff and get the third degree like I'm applying for a friggin' mortgage. I even asked them "what do you need all this information for?" and got the roll-eyes and "sorry, sir, but we cannot complete the transaction without inputting the information-- it's how our system is set up"...

"Well, your system sucks if it can't do a cash sale without all this BS..." Then I just gave them my brother's physical address (he has a PO Box now and they don't forward stuff from the old physical address when Grandma had a mailbox by the road) and the old phone number (that was changed years ago) and left it at that... Not like I was buying a friggin' assault rifle or explosives or something for pity's sake... stupid, stupid, stupid.

After that, they were the "vendor of last resort" and I'd buy whatever I needed ANYWHERE but there...

Always a wonderful idea to TOTALLY alienate your customer base! What a wonderful concept!

Later! OL JR :)
 
I hit my neighborhood Shack up once or twice a month for little things I need to move a project along. Not a great selection anymore, but I'm recognized by the staff, so they not only leave me alone, but throw me a nice little 10% frequent-shopper discount. Maybe I'm part of the problem!
The Onion has a BUNCH of great articles on the chain (just search their site for "Radio Shack"), but this is my all time favorite, and it's from 7 years ago!
https://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/

Loved it... spot on...

I have it figured out... They forced "Auto Shack" to change their name back in the 80's or 90's, and the change catapulted "Auto Zone" (as it was renamed) to the "top of the heap" in the auto parts retail supply chain.

Had "Radio Shack" rebranded themselves as "Radio Zone", they'd be on top right now... and everybody would be laughing at going to "Auto Shack" and standing around in line interminably listening to someone mutter in Spanish about needing an alternator for a '73 Plymouth Volare while feeling this must be what it's like to be stuck in an INS office...

Oh wait... that's how Auto Zone really is...

Nevermind...

Oh well... it was a theory...

LOL:) Later! OL JR :)
 
The Super Bowl commercial last year sent the most ironically wrong message. They had 1980's icons like Mary Lou Retton and ALF. "Out with the 80's" was the message. Well, D***, I WISH I could still have the 1980's Radio Shack again, with the kind of parts selection they used to have (and again I do not mean ancient outdated parts). So the message might as well have been "We used to be very successful, but now we are the "New" Radio Shack with less and less uniqueness". Reminds me of the "New Coke" fiasco.


- George Gassaway

I saw that very same commercial and totally didn't get it at first- it got me so excited when I heard that, "the '80s want their Radio Shack back!" because, to me, that sounded like they were bringing back the Shack I grew up with. My wife explained, not unkindly, that I'm an idiot, and that this means it'll be even LESS like it was in the 1980s. Sad.
 
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