RadioShack may be preparing for bankruptcy

CNN Money ^ | 14 Jan 2015 | By Katie Lobosco and Chris Isidore

[Red Badger]

Struggling to raise enough cash and credit to stay alive, RadioShack is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy as soon as next month.

The filing could come the first week of February, according to the Wall Street Journal. RadioShack declined to comment for this story.

The company had a deadline of Jan. 15 to come up with $100 million in combined cash and available credit, or its major creditors can pull the plug on the long-term financing it needs to survive. RadioShack only had $63 million available heading into the Christmas shopping season.

The struggling electronics retailer has been trying to close 1,100 of its 5,000 stores since March, but it's an expensive undertaking. It only came up with enough cash to close 175 stores through the end of October.

[Paine in the Neck]

RS has been a zombie for decades. They have no reason to exist any more.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Oh Noes!!! Now where am I ever going to find an AM transistor radio in lime green or raspberry?

[Eric]

The Radio Shack of today IS NOT the Radio Shack of yesterday. They DID change their business model, and never found their way back. Here in Connecticut, we have a local store called Cables and Connectors that is basically what Radio Shack used to be. Components, wire, connectors, electronic kits, etc. And they do a staggering business. They have what you are looking for 98% of the time. Radio Shack lost the "do-it-yourself" vision, and managed to lose their customers.

[duckworth]

It always seemed strange in Radio Shack. If you wanted one connector, the package would have two, and you’d have to pay for two! And there was always something creepy about how they wanted your name and address when you checked out. I always had a feeling there was some strange religious cult behind the whole operation.

[Seruzawa]

RS purposefully targeted and destroyed most of the old Mom & Pop electronic stores. Then they stopped offering parts and kits and went to that crappy line of Realistic junk. Bankruptcy couldn’t happen to nicer people. I feel sorry for the employees. But I’m sure the top tier will do nicely out of this.

[Political Junkie Too]

I always had a feeling there was some strange religious cult behind the whole operation.

You mean educated, DIY people who understand circuits and electricity?

-PJ

[trebb]

I can’t remember the last time I went into one and wasn’t the only customer there. The clerks make the Maytag repairman look like a super busy whirling dervish...

[Texas Eagle]

Crap. NOW where am I going to take my Commodore 64 for repairs?

[wally_bert]

I’ve got one that powers on but no static on video.

[AFreeBird]

My first computer was a TRS-80 CoCo. 16K of RAM, cassette tape storage, a 300 baud modem and a Videotex ROM cartridge. Came with a trial subscription to Comp-U-Serve.

Ahh the memories.

[kidd]

Had to look it up.
Cables and Connectors - Berlin Turnpike in Newington

I’ve relied on RS for the odd part that I needed right away. I probably spent $50/year at RS. They would do much better as a kind of electronic parts hardware store. There is no need for RS to be located in a mall.

If RS closes stores, I will be going to Cables and Connectors for my odd parts. Thanks.

[Minutemen]

Are there any more 1 Hour Photo Huts left?

Man I hope so, I just found a few undeveloped 35mm rolls I forgot about from 1999.

[BitWielder1]

Last time I was in a Radio Shack I actually did find the connector I was looking for. It wasn't exactly right but it worked.
Their hobby shelves are just sad now.
I was especially put off by the whole wall full of cell phone covers.
Really now, an electronics store selling pink cell phone covers!!

[4yearlurker]

Cleaning out some drawers we actually found two rolls of 35mm that are about 10 years old. Wal-Mart still develops.

[bigbob]

The “era” is going on just fine,but without Radio Shack in the form of SparkFun, Adafruit, Make Magazine, Itead Stdudio, and many others. Someone like Hobby Lobby could use the Radio Shack chain to extend a broader hobby and DIY presence to rural areas. Internet shopping and waiting for delivery are no fun in the middle of a project, else Hobby Lobby and Joannes, etc would be sucking wind too.

[Squawk 8888]

Most major cities have shops that sell parts at a fraction of the RS price. Resistors, caps and LEDs for a nickel or less, high-intensity LEDs for fifty cents, semiconductors for a couple of bucks. I know of about half a dozen such shops in Toronto, most of which are located near university or college campuses.

[logi_cal869]

Agreed. I & other local DIY geeks & local professionals are fortunate that a local chain has a couple of stores on the interstate corridor carrying a full line of NTE parts, misc cables/connectors, fuses, caps, Arduino/Adafruit components, even so-called ‘3D-printing’ stuff. What they don’t have is available rather quickly without having to go cross-ref & find it myself. They’ve always been a link to licensing for Ham and have classes periodically on robotics, electronics etc where people with similar interests get together and bang ideas off each other and get help/share skills to help get projects done.

Try getting all that from Amazon (/s intended to some).

Yes, I’ve uses Mouser/Amazon & others for ‘builds’, but when you’re needing to repair something critical, the choice is wait a couple days or replace it; not a pleasant decision in many cases. Let alone when you’re repairing for for-hire, telling the customer they have to wait for a couple days for it to get here is a fast way to lose clients in many cases.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The Radio Shack era passed in 1975 or so...

[OneWingedShark]

The “era” is going on just fine,but without Radio Shack in the form of SparkFun, Adafruit, Make Magazine, Itead Stdudio, and many others. Someone like Hobby Lobby could use the Radio Shack chain to extend a broader hobby and DIY presence to rural areas. Internet shopping and waiting for delivery are no fun in the middle of a project, else Hobby Lobby and Joannes, etc would be sucking wind too.

Given advances in 3D printing; RadioShack could once again be a electronics components store — walk in say what you want, have them manufacture on-site... bang!
(Though it might take a while to break even w/ electronic components only; perhaps they could also be the Kinkos of 3D printing.)

[circlecity]

I’m not surprised. I’ve been in a Radio Shack store about three times in the last 10 years and each time I was the only customer in the store the entire time I was there and the prices were outrageous.