[Coco] RadioShack closing 1100 stores

Wed Mar 5 15:07:40 EST 2014

As much as I would love to see RS go back to it's roots, unless they are willing to match the prices you see on-line for component parts they will fail.  When I can go to any number of on-line retailers for component parts at low cost, and often with no sales tax (for now) at dirt cheap prices I will never use a RS if they keep there current price structure on these types of parts.  Even after the 1100 stores are shut down at 4000+ locations remaining, it will be  too many stores to be "niche" store that only caters to one market.  All of us tech/geek type would love to have FPGAs/CPLDs/Microcontrollers etc, but 99% of the population were the stores are would not be interested in that sort of stuff.  RS is a sinking ship and I have a feeling it has taken on too much water to be saved.  It will never be able to compete in the consumer electronics market with the likes of best buy and walmart, so unless they go all out with a large variety of specialty items that caters to multiple "niche" markets, even then it will be a huge gamble that it takes off.  Bottom line they need to have quality and low cost, which in this world is difficult to find that balance.

On Mar 05, 2014, at 02:37 PM, cyberpunk at prtc.net wrote:

>
> I seriously doubt that they can recover their long lost niche now largely covered by Tiger. Quoting from the 80's "They are going to need a bigger boat, err store!" :-)
> --
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> Tuesday, 04 March 2014, 11:45PM -0400 from "Kip Koon" <computerdoc at sc.rr.com>:
> Hi Rogelio!
> Right on my friend!  Radio Shack needs to get back to what they did best -
> Electronic Parts and Computers of various types.  FPGA Development kits
> maybe and CPLD Kits too.  We all will of course always need electronic parts
> if they'd just price those things decently.  Heck I cut my electronic teeth
> on the 150 in 1 Electronics Project Kit in my youth.  I remember bugging my
> family with an audio oscillator I built with it.  I had to replace a general
> purpose transistor a little while later as well.  I think it was a PNP
> Transistor if memory serves.  Those were the days!
> Kip
> From:  coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com] On
> Behalf Of Rogelio Perea
> Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 10:12 PM
> On Tue, Mar 4 2014, Ward Griffiths wrote:
>> I do all my hobbyist shopping at Micro-Center these days (except last
>> year when I was leaving north Jersey for New Hampshire at 4AM and had
>> to stop at WalMart and spend more for less on a couple things I'd
>> found I needed), but not everybody has one of those stores only ten
>> miles away.  (Only absolute necessities because WalMart in Jersey
>> charges 7% sales tax, in New Hampshire they charge 0%).  (The Paterson
>> Micro-Center has an "Urban Enterprise Zone" deal with with the state
>> so the sales tax is only 3.5%)(of the probably $30k I've spent there
>> on gear for me, for my late wife and for my boss [that last using his
>> card with his permission, as Hurricane Sandy did a lot of damage
>> around the office, and tower PCs on the floor do not react well to a foot
> of brackish water]).
> One of the best ones close to Staten Island is Green Brook Electronics,
> about half an hour away... dirty, disorganized, grumpy counter employees but
> it has a lot of stuff as a well stocked electronics store should have.
> Have another smaller electronics shop inside a Canal Street Chinese trinkets
> store, just a hop from the subway ride home from work.
> Have to note that my local RS store saved the day when my Weller soldering
> station broke down in the midst of a prototype run for the MC-10 disk
> controller (Darren Atkinson's design). If it had not been for that store I
> would have had to mail order a replacement, ended up getting a better Weller
> unit and at a not bad price. Lately I started building up my spare parts
> cabinet and found a few bundled component kits on RS.
> Also agree that RS should not have put all its eggs on the cell phone
> basket. Back in 2006 I worked part time at an Edison NJ store - lasted only
> 3 months quitting a couple of days after that year's black Friday. I hated
> selling cell phones and related accessories, my focus was on trying to
> spruce up the components, kits, scanners and radios section which were
> neglected to no end with the blessing of the District Manager... the only
> thing in sight was selling cellphones no matter what. Now it is confirmed it
> was a short sighted initiative from the top honchos in Texas. I remember one
> of the biggest scandals that year being the one about one of the chief
> officers getting caught lying about his credentials; when things are as
> spoiled as they were a the top, what hope did the stores had with those
> people fronting the big decisions?
> These days just for kicks I will take my pocket computers and Models
> 100/200 to the stores whenever the time comes to buy batteries for them,
> just for the oooohhhs and aaahhhs the things get from most of the employees
> :-)
> -- RP
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