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RadioShack’s new owner plots old comeback strategy

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Re: RadioShack’s new owner plots old comeback strategy

#61

Post by bigyikes »

drewcoo wrote: post #59
bigyikes wrote: post #10

It's a shame what happened to RadioShack. I liked them for hobby components. >Items will include “more end products than the stores have typically sold, focusing more on cellphone products, headphones, batteries and adapters, for instance.” I don't see this as a winning strategy. I can buy any of these items at a number of convenient locations, like Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and Walmart. Why would I choose RadioShack…

> I liked them for hobby components. Can't you find those at places like Mouser? I thought there were better options for everything than at Radio Shack before they went under.

Yeah totally, but sometimes I just really want that random component right now and RadioShack was there to save the day.

They also had stuff for other hobbies like RC cars which Mouser doesn’t really cater to.

Mouser also has a sea of crap I have to wade through.

Re: RadioShack’s new owner plots old comeback strategy

#62

Post by phlakaton »

kevinmchugh wrote: post #46
phlakaton wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Because the shopping experience at all of those places is awful. RadioShack's advantages, where it had them, were in its convenience and its ergonomics. Get in, get what you want, browse a couple of human-scale shelves, pick up some batteries, and get out zippity-zap. Try doing that at Target.

The check out process at radio shack is infamously part of why people stopped going there - the insistence on getting a phone number or email address

I don't recall ever giving one. Of course, the big box stores and Amazon would never presume to do something so outrageous.

Re: RadioShack’s new owner plots old comeback strategy

#63

Post by tyrfing »

phlakaton wrote: post #62
kevinmchugh wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The check out process at radio shack is infamously part of why people stopped going there - the insistence on getting a phone number or email address

I don't recall ever giving one. Of course, the big box stores and Amazon would never presume to do something so outrageous.

One click checkout, now including a warranty upsell, 3 attempts to sell Prime, and defaulting to paid shipping instead of the free option. A marvel of frictionless shopping, brought to you by 40% marketshare.

Re: RadioShack’s new owner plots old comeback strategy

#64

Post by thrtythreeforty »

Sylamore wrote: post #58
hellotheretoday wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I moved 2 years ago but before that I lived about 10m from a micro center for a decade. The hobbyist section in that time progressively got smaller and the selection was overtaken by branded expensive tools and kits. Like instead of just selling the cheap Chinese screwdriver set you could buy on Amazon for 9.99 they’d sell ifixit branded screwdrivers which appeared to be of the same build quality but with the brandin…

I knew when I moved from AZ to NC I was going to miss Fry's (RIP), I should have checked to see if there were any micro centers within a 50 mile radius when trying to figure out where to move.

The Fry's next to my house died a couple years ago. It was time for it to go: it seriously sucked to walk through, and they hadn't updated any inventory since like 1990. Half the shelves were unapologetically empty.

This isn't limited to just this Fry's, either. I went to the one in Anaheim and it was also a bad time.

I would kill for a Microcenter to go in there. (I'm in Austin and it seems like we'd have plenty of the target market.)

Re: RadioShack’s new owner plots old comeback strategy

#66

Post by dragontamer »

smaudet wrote: post #20
dragontamer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PCBs these days are like $5 per board from American makers like DKRed (Digikey's PCB service), with support for both 2x layer and 4x layer boards. Radio Shack will never be able to compete against DKRed (or OSHPark) from PCB making perspective. Even cheaper if you buy from China. Radio Shack would be best as a board-level hobbyist group: selling Teensy, Arduino, Beaglebones, Rasp. Pi... as well as wires and common co…

I don't know, I think a shop that could offer both would be invaluable. I haven't heard of either of those PCB services, I'm not in the market to make them, but if I walk into a store and see this on offer, especially if someone is helping me to design etc, that could be a valuable service. Wholesale mfgs will always be cheaper, but there is something to be said for a one-stop shop experience. I don't have to spend t…

You "can't" make a one stop shop for electronics, not at least how things are done right now.

Different projects will have different reasons for choosing transistors: maybe response time is maximally important. Maybe they're using the transistor in "linear" mode and would rather have a wide and consistent ohmic region. Maybe its a high-power application where breakdown voltage is most important. Maybe it needs to be ruggedized and they'll prefer protection diodes.

This is _JUST_ transistors. Every other part basically has this similar problem.

There's just too many important decisions per part. As such, modern nmos-transistor catalogs number in the thousands of parts in practice. The only way you get the right transistor is through online ordering through megastores (like Digikey) who can keep stock of all the hundreds-of-thousands of SKUs + have an online searchable database to help you find what you're looking for.

-------------------

So where Radio Shack could feasibly work... is by:

1. Shrinking the catalog down to "standard" generic parts that have wide applicability to many different projects. "Jack of all Trade" transistors, that aren't the best in any particular category but instead have nice behaviors across a large set of axis. This is just for a "keep in stock" perspective, for anyone who wants to "make an electronics project today" without waiting for the 5 to 10 days for typical shipping times for custom PCBs.

#1 means that Radio Shack (or other stores) can swap between transistors from different manufacturers as they come into (or out of) stock, or based on supply/demand. (Buying up excess stock from a factory on the cheap), etc. etc. But still organizing these parts to match various SKUs that match particular use-cases (ex: 3.3V logic NMOS).

2. Focus on physical attributes which benefit to coming into the store. Ex: Serving as a central point for expensive tool rental. An OEM-set of crimpers, for example the Harwin M20 series of Dupoint / Mini-PV clone connectors, has a $570 crimper. That's cheap for a store to hold in stock/rental, but a bit expensive for hobbyists.

Electronics in practice have _LOTS_ of $500+ tools (crimpers, 3d printers, laser cutters, etc. etc.) that really would benefit from rental-models. Furthermore, the tool usage scales well with wire usage in practice. (Ex: bulk ethernet cable is way cheaper than individual ethernet wires. If hypothetical-Radio Shack buys 10,000 ft. spools and has the nice $500 to $1000 crimpers to make your own wire in store, that's a good reason to come in)

-----------

With 4-layer boards so cheap in practice through online ordering, I really don't think "Hypothetical Radio Shack" can compete with that.

But give me a place to consolidate custom wire lengths + rental of those expensive crimpers, and we probably have a deal.

Re: RadioShack’s new owner plots old comeback strategy

#68

Post by hakfoo »

kmeisthax wrote: post #22
exabrial wrote: post #18

Radioshack needs to jump on the Maker movement, Right To Repair movement, and science education movement. Offer everything from 3d printing classes to how to fix classes. By educating the masses, you create demand for your products you're selling.

Correction: needed to jump on the Maker movement 20 years ago. In fact, they used to be right in the center of that! RadioShack was the maker movement back when makers were really into amateur radio and CB. Then they branched out into home computers (TRS-80, Tandy PC clones, etc). Then someone had the bright idea to completely divest themselves of their computer lineup[0] and just sell mobile phone service plans and…

For a while in my town, circa 2000, they had an experimental-format store. The signage said 'Radioshack.com' on the front and it was the size of a small grocery store and went to all those places-- they had a build-your-own-PC department, I want to say ham radio stuff, non-trivial electronics kits, and a large counter for components. I still have a long string of 470 ohm resistors because the guy at the components counter noted there was a price break and I was better off buying 100 than the 15 I needed then and there.

I wonder if their franchise model stymied the format-- they could hardly tell the franchisee who had rented out a standard mall location that he needed to quadruple his footprint.

What's funny is that they were like 1km from a more conventional electronics-parts shop, a little run-down outfit with no marketing budget or retail presence, buried behind a rail yard, and that company's still in business today (albeit at a slightly nicer location).

Re: RadioShack’s new owner plots old comeback strategy

#69

Post by batguano »

easton wrote: post #6
mortureb wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone buys these things online or at Walmart. I think the best bet would be to try to remain small and capture the hobbyist market around electronics. Michaels already exists for art supplies, Home Depot can supply the screws but no one can really supply electronic components, PCBs, 3D printers etc.

I mean, Micro Center exists in some areas of the country (the one near to me is literally next to a Michaels). The reason it’s not everywhere is probably because there’s not as much demand outside of big cities.

I live in the Bay Area, which is both big city, and heavily tech/maker, and I have never even heard of a Micro Center, much less seen one.

I miss RadioShack, and especially Frys when they were in their prime.

Re: RadioShack’s new owner plots old comeback strategy

#70

Post by ReactiveJelly »

phlakaton wrote: post #45
duskwuff wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't see this as a winning strategy. I can buy any of these items at a number of convenient locations, like Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and Walmart. Why would I choose RadioShack, especially when I don't have faith in their ability to price competitively? Moreover, that's just doubling down on the same business strategy that already ran the company into the ground. I can't imagine it's going to work any better thi…

Why? Because the shopping experience at all of those places is awful. RadioShack's advantages, where it had them, were in its convenience and its ergonomics. Get in, get what you want, browse a couple of human-scale shelves, pick up some batteries, and get out zippity-zap. Try doing that at Target.

That sounds like my Best Buy experiences.

Get in, buy a low-end GPU, or an SSD, or whatever random PC component I don't want to wait a week for, play with the XBox and Macs, check out and go home

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