Tag Archives: RadioShack Closures

RadioShack store re-opens: offers ham radio classes, Maker’s Space and educational outreach

Many corporate RadioShack stores, like the one above in North Carolina, closed after headquarters filed for bankruptcy.

I love it! Yet another story of a RadioShack store finding opportunity and serving their community in the wake of bankruptcy.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, for sharing this article from The Citizen Tribune:

It is not often that you see a company go out of business and quickly reopen in the same location, but that is exactly what Jeff Pederson and Trevor “Reed” Freers have done with the Jefferson City RadioShack.

Freers was the manager of the original store for six years before RadioShack went bankrupt and closed all of its stores nationwide.

“I saw a lot of people lose their jobs,” Freers said. “As the marketing manager, I was the one who had to let a lot of those people go. It was really sad.”

Freers’s store was one of the last to close as they continued to do well under his high level of customer service, which often including going to customers’ homes to make sure they were satisfied with their purchases and helping customers set up or troubleshoot new devices.

“Running this store, I really grew to love the community,” Freers, who is originally from Kansas City, Missouri, said.

When Pederson contacted him about managing a privately owned RadioShack in the same location, Freers was excited at the chance to get back to doing what he loves.

[…]The newest addition to the store, unique to the Jefferson City location, is the area Freers named the “Makers’ Space.”

This open area of the store will be home to the many classes the store now offers, such as soldering classes, drone classes and monthly training sessions on how to set up and use a cell phone.

Freers has already partnered with a local gym which has requested a monthly class teaching older participants how to set up their Facebook profiles, as well at the Lakeway Amateur Radio Club to offer HAM Radio classes.

Schools and other learning programs are welcomed to use the area for classes, and Freers will also make himself available to travel to schools to teach those classes.[…]

Click here to read the full article at The Citizen Tribune.

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RadioShack franchises expand in wake of corporate bankruptcy

(Source: Twice.com via Tom Hacker)

RadioShack’s second bankruptcy in two years may have brought its company-owned stores to the edge of oblivion, but it has apparently sparked a renaissance among the chain’s approximately 425 independent franchisees.

As Wisconsin dealer-owner PJ Kruschel explains, inventory is beginning to flow again, and the departure of the corporate stores has ramped up customer demand and unshackled RadioShack dealers from restrictions on expansion.

Kruschel, who will grand-open the country’s first post-bankruptcy RadioShack tomorrow in Baraboo, Wis., shared his observations in an email to TWICE, which we posted below with his permission:

“I’ve owned a RadioShack dealer store for the past ten years and just opened a new store a couple weeks ago. It’s the first new RadioShack since the latest bankruptcy. There is another store opening in Utah and a couple more in Tennessee coming in the near future, but I’m the first.[…]

Continue reading at Twice.com.

Thanks for the tip, Tom!

This is encouraging news indeed and verifies what I’ve seen at the two RadioShack franchises I’ve visited since the bankruptcy. In both cases, they are serving the needs of a local community–their inventory and services have always included products and services the corporate stores weren’t allowed to offer. RadioShack franchises have always had more freedom to expand their offerings, but now it appears they can even expand their locations. Excellent news, I say.

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More RadioShack store closing details including dates

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who writes:

Here is a very interesting PDF legal document (via Prime Clerk) that not only has the “COMPLETE” RadioShack store list that are closing by early April (Tranche One and Two) but with important dates given.

Click here to download Docket 98-2 (PDF).

(more info: https://cases.primeclerk.com/generalwireless/Home-DocketInfo)

Yes, sadly the store I worked in for over 8 years is closing by (before) April 6th when this store will become Sprint only. Being in a Mall , its funny it was not closed in the first bankruptcy ?? It’s been in that spot since late 1981.

Many thanks, Dave. As I mentioned in this previous post, poor RadioShack is all but dead for us hobbyists and Makers–one last chance to grab some closeout deals before the retail outlets become Sprint stores.

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List of RadioShack Stores Closing Soon

(Source: The Consumerist)

RadioShack is, once again, bankrupt and all of its locations that aren’t being converted to Sprint stores are potentially on the chopping block. A new court filing has finally revealed which of the nearly 200 Shacks will be closing in the immediate future. Update: We also have the list of 365 more RadioShacks that are either already holding store closing sales, or are candidates for the next round.

Below is a sortable list (click on any column header), taken from a filing with a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware, of all the RadioShack locations expected to be shuttered by the end of March.

Click here to view the full sortable list at The Consumerist.

Our local RadioShack is not closing according, to this list and the employees at the store. However, it sounds like the store will simply become a Sprint mobile phone retailer, thus everything that made RadioShack a convenience for us Hams, Makers and Tinkerers (local availability of components and parts) will disappear with the store renovation.

Last week, I purchased a few connectors and components at half price. I also snagged this new Makeblock mBot Kit for $63 tax included (as a comparison, $94 at Amazon). I had been looking for a small programable robot kit for my daughters–so far, I’m very impressed with the mBot!

Our local RS also had Arduino shields at half price.

The catch? No returns–all sales are final.

Last week, everything our store was 20% off, but many items were as much as 50% off retail price. According to our local RS store manager, prices will continue to fall as stock is entirely liquidated.

If you still have a RadioShack nearby, I believe it’s worth venturing out to check for bargains.

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RadioShack files for bankruptcy

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.[…]

Click here to read full article.

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RadioShack successor may declare bankruptcy

I’m returning after a week of travels and spending time with friends at the Winter SWL Fest in Plymouth Meeting, PA. I’m also catching up on a few news items!  Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors and Fest attendees for sharing this news regarding electronics retailer, RadioShack:

(Source: Chicago Tribune)

General Wireless Operations, the RadioShack successor created by a partnership between Sprint Corp. and the defunct retailer’s owners, is preparing to file for bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter.

A filing could happen within the coming days and will probably result in liquidation, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process isn’t public. The beleaguered company, which does business as RadioShack, operates outlets that share space with Sprint’s retail locations, as well as franchising the name to other stores.

The bankruptcy would deal another blow to the RadioShack brand, an almost-century-old source of electronics that struggled to compete with online merchants and big-box retailers. The General Wireless venture was designed to help the RadioShack name live on following the demise of the original chain. But pressures on the business, including sluggish foot traffic at shopping centers and a shift to e-commerce, have persisted.

RadioShack Corp. filed for bankruptcy in 2015. The company closed about half of its 4,000 stores and sold 1,700 to creditor Standard General LP, which teamed up with Sprint to form General Wireless. The deal created 1,400 co-branded locations with Sprint, plus several hundred franchised units.

Click here to read the full story at the Chicago Tribune.

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A blueprint for RadioShack’s “re-birth”

RadioShack-StoreClosing-2

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Mark, who shares this article from the New York Times which describes the plan a hedge fund is implementing to strengthen 1,700 existing RadioShack stores:

RadioShack will slim down to become an electronics convenience store of sorts, focusing on things like Bluetooth headsets, chargers and other accessories that shoppers may need immediately rather than waiting a day or two for shipment of a web order. One of the most profitable RadioShack stores is a Bridgehampton, N.Y., outlet that is frequented by weekend vacationers who have forgotten their smartphone chargers or earphones. And one of RadioShack’s top-selling products is hearing aid batteries.

Tablets, laptops and digital cameras will disappear from RadioShack stores, and mobile phone sales and services will be handled by its new partner, Sprint, all of which affects just 7 percent of RadioShack’s sales. Remaining product lines will also shrink, to 60 headphones from about 180, for example, and to just one fitness wristband from 34.

In an interview, Ron Garriques, a former Dell and Motorola executive chosen last week to lead the new RadioShack, said the chain would also focus on small cities with populations of 5,000 to 100,000, where demand still exists for a neighborhood electronics store.

When he and the Standard General team studied the old RadioShack’s 4,200 stores by profitability, they found that the best-performing stores were not in big cities or fancy malls, where the rents are high and competitors also sell electronics. Most of those stores will close. The number of stores in Manhattan, for instance, will fall to just three from more than 30.

But in many smaller communities, Mr. Garriques said: “RadioShack is part of the neighborhood.  We are the ‘go to’ store for electronics.”

Read the full article at the NY Times website.

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