Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who shares the following news from Reuters:
RadioShack chain operator files for bankruptcy protection
(Reuters) – U.S. electronics chain RadioShack Corp filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday for the second time in a little over two years, faced with a challenging retail environment and an unsatisfying partnership with wireless provider Sprint Corp.
The Chapter 11 filing comes after RadioShack, owned by General Wireless Operations Inc, tried to revitalize its business by co-branding stores with the wireless carrier in an effort to compete against their largest rivals.
General Wireless, an affiliate of hedge fund Standard General LP that acquired the RadioShack brand in 2015, filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization and listed assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million in the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Delaware district.
RadioShack will close approximately 200 stores and will evaluate options on the remaining 1,300, the company said in a statement.[…]
Where else can you get LIFETIME gold clad TV sweep tubes? The gold plating on the pins was a gimmick but I remember the Radio Club having a loaner transceiver that seen a lot of use during contest season. There were countless numbers of finals that were replaced Radio Shack took it on the chin with those sweep tube swaps. “Old finals never die they just fade away”.
Quite disappointing. I had hoped that RadioShack could & would survive.
Just recently, this past month, I bought two 6P6C Straight Inline Couplers from Amazon. $4.40 for both. Neither coupler worked. I drove one town over to a RadioShack and bought two of the same. $7.99 each or almost $17 incl. tax. Quite a price difference. But guess what? They both worked unlike the cheap Amazon.com junk I bought.
I will miss the walls & drawers full of small parts & components.
Hope mine stays open here in Flemington, NJ. They still have those cabinets with drawers full of different electronic parts.
Interesting, since I’ve just heard about a guy in Kanawha City, WV whom is expanding his Radio Shack. His biggest advertising? Word of mouth on amateur radio. At least, that’s how I’ve heard about it.
There’s a RadioShack franchise near me that is thriving as well. They’ve been around for many decades, are family owned, and have more products than than a typical corporate RS store. Their community still relies on them. I imagine they’ll be around even if the RadioShack name disappears.