RadioShack To Close Up To 1,100 Stores; Same-Sales Drop 19 Pct

FoxBusiness.com ^ | 3/4/2014 | Reuters

[mykroar]

Struggling retailer RadioShack Corp reported a wider quarterly loss on Tuesday and said it will close up to 1,100 U.S. stores after a huge drop in sales over the holidays, sending the stock down more than 15 percent.

Sales at the Fort Worth, Texas-based chain have been in free fall amid executive departures, tough competition and an image problem. Despite its ubiquitous presence in the United States, analysts say it has not done enough to transform itself into a destination for mobile phone shoppers or become hip enough to woo younger shoppers.

Its net loss widened to $191.4 million, or $1.90 a share, in the fourth quarter, from $63.3 million, or 63 cents, a year earlier.

Sales fell to $935.4 million in the quarter covering the all-important holiday season, from $1.17 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts, on average, looked for sales of $1.12 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales at stores open at least a year fell 19 percent on weak customer traffic.

Chief Executive Officer Joe Magnacca, who took the helm in February 2013, has said he expected the turnaround to take several quarters.

The stock fell 15.4 percent to $2.30 in premarket trade.

[mykroar]

Not sure this is a huge surprise - the ones around me are never busy. Since they've decimated their old parts section they used to have - it's mostly just cell phones and junk (IMO).

[Texas Eagle]

Thank goodness for this Preezy Pajama Boy recovery. Otherwise Radio Shack might've had to close 1200 stores.

Preezy With A Limp saved 100 Radio Shack stores!

[Red in Blue PA]

Part of the problem is the name itself. Who buys radios anymore? They should have changed that long ago.

[KoRn]

Radioshack has been useless for years. They sell WAY overpriced store brand junk. They could buy all of their inventory from Newegg, put it in stock with a markup, and it would STILL be less expensive than the products they sell now. They might even turn a profit by doing so, but with tiny margins.

[muir_redwoods]

I learned a long time ago to avoid disappointment by never spending more than $3 at a time at Chateau Radio

[The_Republic_Of_Maine]

“Not sure this is a huge surprise - the ones around me are never busy. Since they’ve decimated their old parts section they used to have - it’s mostly just cell phones and junk

And their service is horrible, they don’t seem to understand that they have to compete with both WalMart and Online prices.

[BwanaNdege]

...it has not done enough to transform itself into a destination for mobile phone shoppers or become hip enough...

That is the reverse of Radio Shack's problem. They will never compete as a "Cellphone Fashion Boutique". Best Buy has other stuff to look at when you are shopping for a phone, Mall Kiosks are cheaper to run for cellphone "hip fashion accessories" and Amazon & Amazon Prime will get you the same phone at a better price within 2 days.

Radio Shack has abandoned it's roots as a source of parts & supplies for the entry level electronic experimenter. Maybe if they added 3D printer kits, Raspberry Pi's, etc and moved out of the high rent district at the Mall and back to neighborhood strip mall stores they could re-establish their niche and unique brand identity.

[3Fingas]

It used to be an electronic nerd paradise. Now, it is just an overpriced junk store. I used to buy hobbyist shortwave radio stuff there. Now, I get my stuff on the Interwebz.

[ken5050]

Just watch..they’ll announce a merger with JC Penny

[BikerJoe]

Maybe if they added 3D printer kits,

They actually offer a 3D printer online.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Oh where will we be able to buy raspberry and plum colored AM transistor radios?

[ecomcon]

Radio Shack is completely useless. If they wanted to sell retail phone crap to the low info voters, they should have had the guts to change their name 15 years ago.

There is no reason to go to a Radio Shack.

[Fire_on_High]

Radio Shack saved my tookus when the wallwart for my previous modem unexpectedly shattered. They had me fixed up with a universal adapter and the right tip in no time, including letting me test in store with a spare modem of the same type to be sure it fit and didn’t start smoking.

Still, it’s not the first line for anything, it’s where you go when you need a cable or fan or plug and you can’t get safely online to go to Newegg or wait for something to ship...

[Mycroft Holmes]

Radio Shack has abandoned it's roots as a source of parts & supplies for the entry level electronic experimenter. Maybe if they added 3D printer kits, Raspberry Pi's, etc and moved out of the high rent district at the Mall and back to neighborhood strip mall stores they could re-establish their niche and unique brand identity.

It's their only play. Then again, it's so easy to order exactly what you want from Digikey, that seems a doomed path as well.

Fight the Free Sh☭t Nation

[OldSmaj]

it has not done enough to transform itself into a destination for mobile phone shoppers or become hip enough to woo younger shoppers.

And all this time, I thought it was because of the cheap chinese remote control crap they have been selling.

Seriously, Radio Shack was once the destination of many hobbyists, for dozens of projects.

I challenge an electronics buff to find more than 10 percent of their needs in any Radio Shack, now.

I can't even find a decent key-controlled switch.

But they have 10,000 versions of one damned phone that they have managed to price twice as much as anyone else.

I think they did it to themselves. They have been in decline for years.

[ryan71]

I’ve been doing electrical/electronic work for 30 years. Radio Shack is a terrible terrible source.

[real saxophonist]

Can I have your phone number?
And your Zip code?
And your email address?

There's a reason Radio Shack is going to die, and I hope Sears follow it.

[AnAmericanAbroad]

Last time I was in a Radio Shack was in the year 2000. I walked in around 4:30 PM and the sole employee was delighted to see me. We got to talking, and I was the only person who'd been in that store all day. He said he'd hate to lose his job, but he couldn't see any reason why that particular store was even open. He'd had days where no one came into store. That was 14 years ago. I can't imagine it's improved. I think Radio Shack will very soon be joining the list of defunct American retailers.

[BitWielder1]

They dropped hobby electronics in favor of walls full of pink cell phone covers.
In each of my most recent 10 visits to a RS over the last years, I walked away without anything useful.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Can I have your phone number?
And your Zip code?
And your email address?

Why don't I just give you a map and GPS coordinates for the pirate radio transmitter I'm building?