Before Radio Shack, there was Allied Radio, a mail order outfit that actually carried American-made components. That isn't components like amplifiers and tuners, but components like resistors and capacitors and inductors and serious broadcast grade vacuum tubes. This was a radio amateur's dream - real quality parts for construction projects out of the ARRL Handbook.
Allied even had their own line of Knight Kits - nice rugged things like Signal Tracers, Signal Generators Grid Dip Oscillators. Pretty much what Heathkit used to market, but in rugged steel cases instead of aluminum "lunchboxes."
Then Tandy/Radio Shack felt that they needed a mail order warehouse and catalog department and they acquired Allied. Sadly, all they wanted was the infrastructure. They cared little for industrial supply, quality American-made components, the excellent kit line. They replaced everything with cheap Japanese or Taiwanese components.
Further disappointment was when you went to their stores and found clerks that were completely clueless and arrogant about it as well. If you didn't know exactly what you wanted when you went in there, the help was no help, and might even condescend to try to talk you out of what you thought you needed. I boycotted them for years.
When I finally bought my computer, the logical economic choice might have been the TRS-80. Other choices at the time were Heathkit's S-100 Buss offering and the Commodore Pet. I bought an Apple II Plus, and didn't miss RS one little bit.
Now I ony darken their door to buy the odd cable coax connector or a battery for my cellphone. I won't miss them one little bit!
I have fond memories of constructing about a half dozen Heathkits in 1969. I still have them and did some restoration work on them two years ago. I'm looking forward to using them to restore several antique radios I recently purchased.
I was saddened years ago when the Heathkit store in my home town closed. I had planned on constructing one of their more elaborate oscilloscopes but never got the chance.