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Nye Bevan

(25,406 posts)
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:30 PM Jun 2014

The end may be near for RadioShack

An analyst at research firm B. Riley & Co. cut his price target on the once-proud retailer from $1 a share -- to $0. That comes one day after RadioShack (RSH) reported a huge loss, a big decline in sales and plans to close 200 stores in an attempt to turn its sagging fortunes around.

Shares of RadioShack fell more than 4% Wednesday afternoon on the news. They plunged 10% Tuesday and have lost nearly half their value this year. The stock trades for about $1.32.

Scott Tilghman, the B. Riley analyst, wrote in his report that he was worried about how quickly the company is burning through cash. He said that turnaround hopes are based on "crossed fingers rather than hard data" and predicted that there is more than 50% chance that RadioShack will have to file for bankruptcy.

Tilghman added in a phone conversation with CNNMoney that RadioShack's problems are similar to Circuit City, the electronics retailer that filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and went out of business in 2009. He said that vendors may be unwilling to ship products to RadioShack during the next few months -- and that could be disastrous since the back-to-school shopping season and holiday shopping period are crucial.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/11/investing/radio-shack-worthless/index.html


Kind of sad, as buying electronic components there is a fond memory from my childhood. But it's tough to compete with the likes of Amazon these days.
42 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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The end may be near for RadioShack (Original Post) Nye Bevan Jun 2014 OP
Compete with Amazon? Their prices can't even remotely compete with Best Buy. Gidney N Cloyd Jun 2014 #1
The last time I went into a Radio Shack they didn't even have what I wanted yeoman6987 Jun 2014 #12
You said it - "they didn't even have what I wanted". The thing is you KNEW what you wanted... TeamPooka Jun 2014 #39
That is true. yeoman6987 Jun 2014 #41
Very sad and PumpkinAle Jun 2014 #2
hard to believe they used to give everyone a free battery every month KurtNYC Jun 2014 #3
That's because the business model of incense and fake dog poop never needed retooling. Cooley Hurd Jun 2014 #5
Well said. And now with the legalization of MJ they can perhaps finally sell KurtNYC Jun 2014 #6
I'd be first in line!! Cooley Hurd Jun 2014 #8
you ain't got onethatcares Jun 2014 #32
I still have mine since when I was a teenager. Luminous Animal Jun 2014 #35
don't forget the sex products TeamPooka Jun 2014 #40
I don't think I want to live in a "society" that has no Spencers Gifts Gidney N Cloyd Jun 2014 #16
Looks like the fart industry is going strong... KurtNYC Jun 2014 #19
Ha, I just saw the new Spencer's Gifts in the mall I used to frequent as a teen. tridim Jun 2014 #17
Man, Radio Shack introduced me to the "PC"! Cooley Hurd Jun 2014 #4
Thank jeebus we still have a local electronics store here. tridim Jun 2014 #7
They still sell transistors, but they're buried in the back... Cooley Hurd Jun 2014 #10
They had the bridge rectifier and capacitors I needed the other day. PSPS Jun 2014 #25
Do they still make you give your name, address and telephone number? zappaman Jun 2014 #9
Marketing... Cooley Hurd Jun 2014 #13
Yes! Even when paying cash! LOL femmocrat Jun 2014 #23
I think another patch cord I bought there is going bad already. nt Zorra Jun 2014 #11
Guitar patch cord? Never a good buy at RS... Cooley Hurd Jun 2014 #15
lol. No way. I buy the best quality available for my guitar and sound gear, and always have spares. Zorra Jun 2014 #18
Somewhere in the spaghetti of my cabling... Cooley Hurd Jun 2014 #20
Now where am I going to buy a compact disc player and JaneyVee Jun 2014 #14
Their non competitive pricing model was their ultimate downfall InfoWingerWatch Jun 2014 #21
RS used to be a good source for electronic parts. HooptieWagon Jun 2014 #22
They had one foot in the grave LONG before amazon came along. If it weren't for cellphone sales CBGLuthier Jun 2014 #24
The guy who owned the one closest to us tularetom Jun 2014 #26
I will miss them shenmue Jun 2014 #27
it was a small electronics store once Leme Jun 2014 #28
Life without Radio Shack existing? Jamastiene Jun 2014 #29
I hope they can stay open Mosby Jun 2014 #30
You mean Rip-off Shack? Aerows Jun 2014 #31
i'm surprised they lasted even this long JI7 Jun 2014 #33
It was a great place to work about 75% of the time. karadax Jun 2014 #34
Can't wait to raid the component cabinets when the one 2 miles from me finally has a going-out-of- Erose999 Jun 2014 #36
I still have a Realistic turntable pintobean Jun 2014 #37
later on they created the Optimus line Mosby Jun 2014 #38
I have no idea. pintobean Jun 2014 #42

Gidney N Cloyd

(19,781 posts)
1. Compete with Amazon? Their prices can't even remotely compete with Best Buy.
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:41 PM
Jun 2014

I've been a customer since the 60's when it was the best place to find parts and gadgets and I'll miss it, too, but I honestly don't know what's kept them afloat for the last 20 years. The tipping point was when they stopped printing the yearly catalog (following a short stretch where they were incredibly stingy with them).

 

yeoman6987

(14,449 posts)
12. The last time I went into a Radio Shack they didn't even have what I wanted
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:53 PM
Jun 2014

so I looked on line and found it at Amazon. A shame but they made these really small shops that sold nothing really. If you want to compete with large on-line folks like Amazon, you need to at least have items that are wanted when a customer walks in. I haven't been back since then and that was three years ago...I can see many people did the same as I did.

TeamPooka

(24,156 posts)
39. You said it - "they didn't even have what I wanted". The thing is you KNEW what you wanted...
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 05:36 PM
Jun 2014

as do most consumers of electronics etc today.
Gone are the days when people didn't understand "hi-fi's" and coaxial cable.
The Radio Shack empire was built on stores with salespeople who knew the answers to questions that their customers didn't know.
My 80 year old Mom, who is quite computer literate, knows more than the last two guys who tried to help me in a RS.
Their remote controlled cars were very cool though and I loved them as a kid.

PumpkinAle

(1,210 posts)
2. Very sad and
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:42 PM
Jun 2014

I will admit I usually only go to RadioShack for some hard to find items or when I need something in a hurry and I am right by a store.

Agree their prices are too high to shop there regularly.

KurtNYC

(14,549 posts)
3. hard to believe they used to give everyone a free battery every month
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:42 PM
Jun 2014

Heck one 9v is $3+ these days.

RS never updated their business model. The margin on most electronics is slim and even slimmer on cell/smart phones since they are loss leaders (sold below cost) to get customers for the carriers who rake in the monthly fees during the 2 and 3 year contracts.

Radio Shack hung on longer than many other mall store chains -- Hot Dog on A Stick, Orange Julius, Mrs Fields, Montgomery Wards, Sbarro, Bombay, B Dalton, Blockbuster, Wherehouse, and KB Toys.

One mysterious survivor in the mall stores group -- Spencers Gifts (?!)

KurtNYC

(14,549 posts)
6. Well said. And now with the legalization of MJ they can perhaps finally sell
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:46 PM
Jun 2014

all those left over black light posters from the late 1970s.

 

Cooley Hurd

(26,877 posts)
8. I'd be first in line!!
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:50 PM
Jun 2014

...and DEFINITELY add a strobe light. For that, I'd have to dust off my "Dark Side of the Moon" mp3's. You know how dusty old mp3's can get. (for the record, yes, I still have my vinyl copy ).

Gidney N Cloyd

(19,781 posts)
16. I don't think I want to live in a "society" that has no Spencers Gifts
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:58 PM
Jun 2014

Where else are you going to find key fobs that make fart noises?

tridim

(45,358 posts)
17. Ha, I just saw the new Spencer's Gifts in the mall I used to frequent as a teen.
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:02 PM
Jun 2014

It has been downsized to almost nothing, the entire store is about 10 feet wide. Probably one step before they go kiosk or out of biz.

They still sell the exact same stuff they did back in the 80's.

 

Cooley Hurd

(26,877 posts)
4. Man, Radio Shack introduced me to the "PC"!
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:43 PM
Jun 2014

...with their demo TRS-80 (Trash 80) back in the late 70's. I remember playing with it in their store and it came like a lightning bolt to me; "What if people could USE this device to look up cute pictures of kitties?" I shrugged it off and made my way to the library, where I received several paper cuts from the awesome books I read.

All kidding aside, I hope Radio Shack can survive this. It was a staple of my childhood.

tridim

(45,358 posts)
7. Thank jeebus we still have a local electronics store here.
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:48 PM
Jun 2014

Where I can buy almost any electronic component I need.

IMO Radio Shack has been worthless for about 20 years. Even more so now. They don't even sell parts for radios, let alone whole shacks full of radios.

We were lucky to have a special Radio Shack store in Denver that continued to stock electronic components for DIY'ers... It closed 8 years ago.

PSPS

(13,513 posts)
25. They had the bridge rectifier and capacitors I needed the other day.
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:18 PM
Jun 2014

Instead of on the peg board, they're in a drawer chest. Lots of different parts in there. With the demise of independent "radio" stores 40 years ago (due, in large part, to Radio Shack,) it's very hard to find individual parts like these immediately except at Radio Shack.

zappaman

(20,605 posts)
9. Do they still make you give your name, address and telephone number?
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:51 PM
Jun 2014

Even when you are just buying a battery?
Never understood that.

 

Cooley Hurd

(26,877 posts)
13. Marketing...
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 03:54 PM
Jun 2014

I used to JONES for the sunday flyer in the local newspaper! Free batteries and *flashlights*!!!

femmocrat

(28,394 posts)
23. Yes! Even when paying cash! LOL
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:11 PM
Jun 2014

Last time I went there. The very last time.

I was buying a $5 calculator.

Zorra

(27,670 posts)
18. lol. No way. I buy the best quality available for my guitar and sound gear, and always have spares.
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:02 PM
Jun 2014

Just an AV cord.

 

Cooley Hurd

(26,877 posts)
20. Somewhere in the spaghetti of my cabling...
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:06 PM
Jun 2014

...tucked away in a box is my "in-a-pinch" patchcord from RS. It *might've* worked *once*, so I hung onto it.

 

InfoWingerWatch

(78 posts)
21. Their non competitive pricing model was their ultimate downfall
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:08 PM
Jun 2014

People want deals.

Why would I go to Radioshack to buy a 20ft audio cable for $6.99 (+ tax) when I can get it from monoprice for $2 (+ shipping/handling and tax) or $2.89 (with free shipping) from a Ebay seller in California?

$6.99 http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12487811&retainProdsInSession=1

$2 http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021808&p_id=650&seq=1&format=2

$2.89 http://www.ebay.com/itm/25ft-3-5mm-Stereo-Plug-to-Jack-Extension-Cable-Audio-Output-Black-For-iPhone-5-/261175961383

Radioshack screwed up big time.

 

HooptieWagon

(17,064 posts)
22. RS used to be a good source for electronic parts.
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:11 PM
Jun 2014

Whatever part you needed, they had. Adapter plugs? No problem. Shortwave antenna? Got one right here. Now they stock cell phones and batteries. They completely abandoned their old business model and customer base.

CBGLuthier

(12,723 posts)
24. They had one foot in the grave LONG before amazon came along. If it weren't for cellphone sales
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:12 PM
Jun 2014

they would have been gone 15 years ago. I was still getting some components from them just a few years ago but they have outlived their original shelf life by a few decades.

tularetom

(23,664 posts)
26. The guy who owned the one closest to us
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:19 PM
Jun 2014

always seemed pissed off that he had to try to make a living off a Raido Shack store. He opened late, closed early, treated customers rudely, never reordered stock, and took about 20 smoke breaks a day (of course he would lock up the joint when he stepped outside since he was too cheap to hire any sales staff).

I think he realized a long time ago that he had made a bad investment buying a Radio Shack franchise.

 

Leme

(1,092 posts)
28. it was a small electronics store once
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:24 PM
Jun 2014

I went in one every decade or so.... it now looked like a cell phone store last year.

Jamastiene

(38,187 posts)
29. Life without Radio Shack existing?
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:34 PM
Jun 2014

Wow, it is going to be hard to fathom that. It will take me a long time to adjust to that possible new reality. I always go to Radio Shack to buy certain special audio accessories. I guess I'll have to buy the cheap shit Amazon sells once Radio Shack is gone. It will feel VERY strange to me, a world without Radio Shack.

Mosby

(16,168 posts)
30. I hope they can stay open
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:39 PM
Jun 2014

I think they tried changing their business model over the years but some of their bread and butter categories virtually disappeared and in other areas they could not compete on price.

Consider the radio market, CBs, Ham radios are gone and am/fm radio sales are probably next to nothing.

They had a very complete line of component audio equipment and speakers of all types and sizes. They had a line of small bookshelf speakers that were quite good and unique, Bose and others didn't have anything like them at the time. Their equalizers were also pretty good, especially for the price, I still use one today to expand the capabilities of my audio system. Eventually though what I would call the mid-price component market shrunk tremendously and what was left of it was taken over by the big box stores like best buy.

Remember the Radio Shack computer stores? They couldn't compete with Circuit City and Best Buy on price so they didn't last long.

I knew when they became mostly a cell phone store that it was coming to an end.


 

Aerows

(39,961 posts)
31. You mean Rip-off Shack?
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:40 PM
Jun 2014

They are the last resort - like the expensive convenience store that is open at night when you suddenly realize you ran out of milk. Or transistors. Or wiring.

karadax

(284 posts)
34. It was a great place to work about 75% of the time.
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 04:58 PM
Jun 2014

I learned a lot about what those little parts do from the more seasoned managers. When I worked there the company was on a mad push to sell sell sell cellphones. Depending on the provider you'd get $10 to $15 per phone sold. Verizon paid the most. I wasn't into the pushy salesman act so I got yelled at a lot by higher ups. I liked fixing people's problems and not charging them an arm and a leg.

I hope they survive. Their gimmick was that they always had the answer. A lot of the kids in the stores don't know jack.

Erose999

(5,624 posts)
36. Can't wait to raid the component cabinets when the one 2 miles from me finally has a going-out-of-
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 05:10 PM
Jun 2014

business sale. Capacitors, resistors, 1/4 mono jacks, potentiometers, and LED's for 90% off? Hells yeah!!! I may get to build the Bassman amp I've always wanted, on the cheap. I built a Champ last year:



Probably still cheaper to buy the stuff online, but it'll be fun to go through Radio Shack and see what I can get.
 

pintobean

(18,101 posts)
37. I still have a Realistic turntable
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 05:14 PM
Jun 2014

from the mid 80s. Some of the Realistic brand stuff was pretty decent. I recently sold an old pair of Realistic 3-way bookshelf speakers. They had great reviews and sounded really nice, but the brand name killed the resale value.

Mosby

(16,168 posts)
38. later on they created the Optimus line
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 05:25 PM
Jun 2014

It really wasn't much different, but it was an attempt to get away from the Realistic brand name.

Can you sill get cartridges for your turntable?

 

pintobean

(18,101 posts)
42. I have no idea.
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 05:58 PM
Jun 2014

I bought two of them about ten years ago, but I rarely use the turntable. I've probably only played a couple of dozen albums in the last decade. Most of that was to transfer to cd through a Pioneer cd recorder. I still have stacks of vinyl, though. I just never use it and refuse to part with it.

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