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RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

wsj.com

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Re: RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

#191

Post by brudgers »

lisper wrote: post #186
brudgers wrote: post #183

If I were CEO, I'd become the Linux Store to compete with the Apple Stores and the Windows Stores -- there are some of those aren't there? There is a market for main-stream Linux and there's no retail presence. Going further Radio-Shack has a computer brand, "TRS". Get some low-end white-box laptops, slap Ubuntu on them and hire a few one-eyed-man-in-the-land-of-the-blind Linux "gurus" and have at it. It's the modern…

You should send the RS board a proposal. Maybe they'll hire you.

Doubtful, undoubtedly.

I'm not cut out for schmoozing wealth.

Just for expressing the idea that there may be a space for computer stores.

Re: RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

#192

Post by a3n »

sage wrote: post #184
a3n wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since I use ddg, I can put this in my addr/search bar: !gn site:wsj.com "RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing" which brings me to this: http://news.google.com/news/search?tbm=nws&q=site%3Awsj.com%... Perhaps for sites that allow this (NYT and WSJ come to mind), it should become part of HN culture to just post links in the second form (the google news link). Otherwise, I'm sure many people here are capable of creatin…

This bookmarklet seems to work in the few cases I tested: javascript:var as = document.getElementsByTagName("a");searchurl=as[12].protocol +"//"+ as[12].hostname + as[12].pathname;location.href=' http://google.com/search?q='+searchurl If you click it from a HN comments page, it will Google the story's url. For NYT and WSJ, clicking on the story from the Google results should get you in without the paywall. I have onl…

Hey, not bad. I just tried it for a bbc.com story and it showed up on search.

Maybe this javascript thing will catch on.

Re: RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

#193

Post by a3n »

morcheeba wrote: post #161
DanBlake wrote: post #147

Nobody seems to have a good answer for what RS should become to avoid shutting down. The most common answer is to go back to its roots and embrace the maker market and stock up on things like 3d printers, breadboards and arduinos. I think this is the wrong idea, since the market is nowhere near large enough to support the vast amounts of stores RS has. I think if I was the CEO, I would focus on being a boutique shop…

While this is a cool idea for a store, does it really fit with the assets that Radio Shack has? Here's what I see they've got to work with: - lots of retail stores in crappy locations. There's no way I'll hear the difference between a Grado and a Sony when the juicer at Orange Julius is echoing down the hallway. It would be perfect for 3d printers, though. - Cheap, non-committed workers. I'm not sure it would be wort…

> Cheap, non-committed workers.

Isn't that the case with 99% of retail? I'd think any executive that proposed paying retail workers a living wage with predictable hours would get fired as a traitor in the War on Employees.

Re: RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

#194

Post by anigbrowl »

Nearly three years of losses and sales at their lowest levels in decades had forced the electronics chain to turn to debt investors for financial lifelines to stay in business. Objections from some of those same lenders prevented the company from closing hundreds of stores it felt it needed to shut down to stay afloat.

Sounds like they want to asset-strip the business and only lent money in order to have more leverage than they would get by purchasing equity on the open market.

Re: RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

#195

Post by a3n »

DanBlake wrote: post #147

Nobody seems to have a good answer for what RS should become to avoid shutting down. The most common answer is to go back to its roots and embrace the maker market and stock up on things like 3d printers, breadboards and arduinos. I think this is the wrong idea, since the market is nowhere near large enough to support the vast amounts of stores RS has. I think if I was the CEO, I would focus on being a boutique shop…

> Nobody seems to have a good answer for what RS should become to avoid shutting down.

Sell Teslas?

Make their own e-car and sell those? They have Tesla as an existence proof, so they don't have the risk that Tesla took. And they could probably license Tesla IP.

Maybe they could be the down market e-car. And with all those retail locations, maybe they could replace batteries, or charge batteries, or even swap out your whole car. "My battery's dead, gimme another car."

Re: RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

#196

Post by murbard2 »

DanBlake wrote: post #147

Nobody seems to have a good answer for what RS should become to avoid shutting down. The most common answer is to go back to its roots and embrace the maker market and stock up on things like 3d printers, breadboards and arduinos. I think this is the wrong idea, since the market is nowhere near large enough to support the vast amounts of stores RS has. I think if I was the CEO, I would focus on being a boutique shop…

Go the Brookstone way? Did you see what happened to sharper image?

Their main asset was brand recognition, and a network of retail stores. But that network didn't fit with what they were selling anymore.

I think a good strategy would have been to spin off the brick and mortar business and focus almost exclusively on online sales of products targeted at the maker community Arduinos, 3D printers, etc.

Re: RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

#197

Post by sitharus »

balls187 wrote: post #142
gtjay wrote: post #88

Having moved to Australia in recent years, I was very happy to see that JayCar, their equivalent to Radio Shack, seemed to be doing quite well. This is judging by what I've seen of the stores in what is considered a fairly backwards part of Australia (Queensland). The difference seems to be two-fold. First, Jaycar didn't go through an insane expansion (there are only 12 or so locations per state). Second, they've gro…

How much different are retail vs internet prices in AUS? I just imagine because of AUS (relative) isolation, that internet transactions aren't much cheaper than retail. Pure speculation.

The difference is significant, but if you need two resistors it's $0.50 each, or a bag of 100 from the internet for $5 + shipping + waiting, then having 98 left over. Unless it's a particularly common part you'll never use the 98, so you've spent $4 more.

Re: RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

#198

Post by jhulla »

Radio Shack has a warm place in my childhood: the Radio Shack Battery Club.

As a poor nerdlet in the early 80s, all my electronic projects were built with scavenged parts. Even so, I needed batteries. Batteries were not cheap - say compared to buying a gallon of milk for the family.

So, I had my parents and siblings sign up with me for the Radio Shack battery club at the two Radio Shacks nearby. These battery cards entitled you to a free battery once a month. My family supported my habit - and between the two stores and our cards - I had a steady supply of batteries. Those batteries powered my devices and my development as an engineer.

The first time I saw Fry's and WeirdStuff in the Bay Area in the early 90s, I think my heart skipped multiple beats. Seeing a DigiKey catalog for the first time had a similar effect.

I haven't stepped in a RS in more than a decade. I am sorry to see them go.

Re: RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

#199

Post by porsupah »

gtjay wrote: post #88

Having moved to Australia in recent years, I was very happy to see that JayCar, their equivalent to Radio Shack, seemed to be doing quite well. This is judging by what I've seen of the stores in what is considered a fairly backwards part of Australia (Queensland). The difference seems to be two-fold. First, Jaycar didn't go through an insane expansion (there are only 12 or so locations per state). Second, they've gro…

Likewise, in the UK, the dozens of Maplin stores remain places where it's possible to pick up components for electronics projects, alongside the kinds of other electronic products you mention. Evidently, there does remain a place in the world for stores of this kind, whatever can be offered online.

Re: RadioShack Prepares Bankruptcy Filing

#200

Post by jordanpg »

sizzzzlerz wrote: post #175

Let's stop with all the nostalgia for the Radio Shack of old. They haven't been that way for 20 years. Their management has completely misread the market, they abuse their employees, they offer nothing you can't get elsewhere, usually at better prices, and, frankly, they have become like your crazy uncle: prone to doing something odd, smells bad, and is constantly embarrassing the family. Stick a fork in them, they'r…

Even at 35, I have a weird feeling like I'm walking into a religious cult or being watched when I'm in these stores. I've avoided going into them since I was young and this has persisted to this day. It has to do with the creepy, overzealous way the employees interact with you and the panopticon-like layout of the stores. I only go to Radio Shack as a last resort and won't miss them.

On the plus side, having lived in California and seen the magic fun that is Fry's, the minor vacuum left behind by RS might leave door open for something better. If not, I suppose I can wait a whole 48 hours for something from Prime.

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