“Radio is a concept from a hundred years ago, and a shack is a place that essentially homeless people lie in,”
I would bet that very nearly 100% of the people who read that are more benefited by, and are more dependent upon "radio" than they were just a few years ago. To say that radio is a concept from a hundred years ago is strange to me. On the other hand, I guess many people don't consider their 3G, 4G, 2.4 GHz, bluetooth, Wifi etc. to be radio.
Radio is a concept from 100 years ago. 3G, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc. are an amalgam of radio, computers, and networking. Also an excellent example of the end result being greater than the sum of it's parts.
The guy seemed like he had some good ideas, but the whole concept of trying to reinvent themselves as an aggressive online seller, while still maintaining their bricks-and-mortar stores, is a tough test for anyone.
Imagine if Amazon wanted to open a store in every city, PLUS keep their big web site. The stores can't compete with the online component because of the high costs of keeping a physical presence. Their inventory will be minimal, and if they try to deepen it, their inventory costs skyrocket. The online site would try to throttle back to make sure the stores remain relevant. Of course this whole idea is obviously unworkable, but it's what RS is trying to do, just in reverse.
Retailers like Walmart have an online site, but they capitalize on the ship-to-store concept, and offer many other products not available at the stores (Costco does the same). In the case of Walmart and Costco, they're price leaders, since they know people online comparison shop. RS doesn't seem interested in competing on price as they aim for the convenience shopper, a concept that applies to physical stores but not online.
RadioShack is important for anyone in electronics because it's the last self-standing chain that sells resistors and capacitors. But I fear that unless they can come up with a mix that provides a path to growth for both their stores and online, we won't have them for long.
If Gooch was the driving force behind RS's thrust back into the hobbyist and so-called "maker" market, I shudder to think what his leaving might imply for the future of that effort.
If Gooch was the driving force behind RS's thrust back into the hobbyist and so-called "maker" market, I shudder to think what his leaving might imply for the future of that effort.
-Phil
I really hope you are wrong on this one Phil... Ouch...
I got to say when I first read this article this morning I had the same thought as Phil Im a bit scared heres my situation
I live in a rural town in the deseret and due to bad choices a few years ago and this economy Im am left with no job or drivers licence, could get my DL back but I need to pay my tickets kind of hard without work, I bust my *** walking everyday hoping to even get a job at mcdonalds or something, but nowhere is hiring ever and when they do they get alot of applicants for one posistion. Ok thats enough of my sob story heres how it applys to the RS situation.
In my town I cant even find 22 guage wire, the RC car hobby shop place doesn't even sell it. My local choices for materials are, Home Depot, Wal Mart, Autozone/Napa/Orielly, ya it sucks hard. So when I have money and need something there are 3 radio shacks about 25 miles over in the Palm Springs area, Getting a ride or something is usually fairly easy for me. When I go to RadioShack I usually buy things like decent soldier, hook up and wire wrap wire, bags of resistors, protoboards. Basically non specialty type items one needs on hand. This stuff cost about the same or more on digi-key plus shipping and waiting for wire kind of sucks. Now if I were to take a drive to the inland empire/LA area I would have my option of FRYs whole sellers etc.... Not having a liscense makes that trip harder and if I did have a DL at the moment I really have no need to go to those places and waste gas when there is digi key and RS.
Im sure theres alot of hobbyist out there in areas like mine where Radio Shack is there only option to when they screw an SMT board up and need a conductive Ink Pen to fix it immediately! I had stopped going to radio shack a long time ago there was one in my town for years which closed 3 years ago. I remmber when I was in elementary school jr hi, I would go there and get Forest mimms books and passives to satisfy my quest for knowlege. A few years back I went there and there electronics section was basically connectors and piezo speakers... until recently the only thing id bought at an RS was a pricey police scanner and a HAM book. When I started getting back into electronics and went back to a RS I was amazed to see ardunios and propeller boards not to mention KITS like when i was a kid and oh so admired the ramsey catalog there. All three RS have three big isles of electronics stuff!! Its very convient when you need something and your willing to pay a bit extra.
I gotta say if things go back to radio shack being a cell phone store that has some heat shrink tubes I will be very very sad. Hopefully they will stay the same and cut some prices...
I'm afraid Radioshack's days are numbered. I just don't see how they can compete, unless maybe they go online only. Mall stores are some of the most expensive to operate and I don't see how they can keep paying the rent with cell phone sales.
I have two Radioshack stores within driving distance, one i could walk to if I had to. I haven't been in either one in over 6 years. They just don't have anything I'm willing to pay for. I get my parts from Mouser and occasionally other online sellers. I have to accumulate items I need and place an order every month or so. Much cheaper than Radioshack, even with the shipping factored in. If I decide to order just a few parts because I don't want to wait to place a larger order it's still not much worse. Shipping is normally two days from TX to MS (USPS ftw), I can wait.
I shop at my local RS Associate store several times a month -- mostly for components and connectors. It's within easy walking distance from my house, and they carry almost all of the basic parts inventory in drawers. Almost everything I buy comes from those drawers, not from the display area, and the sales staff are familiar enough with me that they don't solicit me with offers of help when I walk into the store. Despite DigiKey and Mouser, if RS went out of business or changed their focus away from components, it would be a hardship for me.
I'm afraid Radioshack's days are numbered. I just don't see how they can compete, unless maybe they go online only. QUOTE] Does anyone remember Egghead software? They shut down and became Newegg online and are doing well.
I feel for everyone that needs RS, but I myself could do without there over priced items and unknowledeable staff trying to sell me a phone I do not need!!! I will only go there in an absolute emergency.
I guess things are different in the mall stores that you frequent. My local RS Associate store was started by an ex-Lockheed engineer from CA back in the '70s and has been repurchased a couple times since. In each case, the owner has been conversant with electronics, and the store continues to be an integral and needed part of the community. Moreover, they carry non-RS items that they purchase independently, in addition to the usual RS stuff. I guess it's just one of the advantages of living in a small town.
Phil, I think you are correct. There is one in the Commons Mall and then directly across the street in a mini mall. I have just never had any luck in finding knowledeable staff in either one and it seems they are more interested in trying to sell you a phone then what you actually went in to the store for. Like I said, it is to the point where I will only shop there in an emergency.
I would probably go to RS more if there were not a Vetco just a bit further away. Come to think of it, I have never even been inside my local RS. Whenever I have needed something from there I have conned persuaded someone else into picking it up for me.
Quite a few years ago when I believe they called themselves Tandy, RS tried establishing themselves over here in the UK, they survived quite a few years but eventually went bust.
As stated it is hard to keep open so many stores, Maplin a UK electronics store has cut back over the years and have very few stores and mainly sell on their website, if it wasnt for the website I wonder if they would still be trading?
Most of us old timers can remember when RS was a nicer place to shop, but as I see it, over the last few years, the local stores have been stocking a little inventory for the electronic enthusiast, which I believe is a good thing for me and society as a whole. If electronic parts become some rare that they can only be purchased online, I believe technology will suffer, because the young and curious will have no ready access or visual clues of electronic components or the simple projects that can be constructed from such items.
Now that RS has started offering items from Parallax and Arduino, I believe they still have a chance for survival, however, I do believe they will have to take a more aggressive and grass roots approach. Considering the flood of personal communication devices seen over the last decade, which is available from so many different sources, I truly believe RS should once again start leaning more towards the electonic enthusiast market, however, I also believe they should start marketing in a similar fashion like Parallax, by working their way into schools and local community groups. I do not believe that RS will survive as a retail outlet, without such an aggressive approach.
Just a bit of history about the term "radio shack". This was originally meant to represent a place that a HAM radio operator set up his gear. Often, because of the nature of the hobby, a shack that was set apart from the home was ideal. The clatter from Morse Code keys and the beeps of CW reception were not particularly appealing to others. Tubes often provided the heating for the entire shack.
Back when I started to become interested in buying electronics components, there was a local outlet on Market Street in San Francisco called Zack's Radio. If you couldn't get what you wanted there, you had to purchase out of a catalog and the choices were Allied Radio that seemed to have nearly everything and Radio Shack which was a back up choice.
Somewhere along the way, Tandy Leather Corporation purchased Radio Shack and started to franchise retail outlets.
These days with Digikey, Mouser, and RS Solutions on the Web, I have wondered how retail outlets can survive. Shopping for sophisticated components is now something that can be done at home. Just about every kind of physical retail outlet is suffering, but especially those that sell small items that can be delivered to your door quite easily.
It always helps to have a proprietor and sales people that are well informed about both products and what the customer interests are, but even those two assets are less of value with the customer being able to search the Web for all and everything in the way of information.
Propellers and Arduinos are certainly helping to attract walk-in customers; but when one has to pay rent for retail space and still offer prices competative with those that do not, I wonder how this will pan out.
I haven't been in a radio shack for years. It's a shame really, because I fondly remember as a kid going in and "playing" with the TRS-80 computers. The sales people back then actually knew electronics and computers. They thought it was cool for a kid to come in and write some BASIC code to move pixels and such. I guess it was good for other customers to see that "even a kid can use one".
But then things went downhill and the sales people didn't even know what a resistor was or what it did. When I asked for a part they would just point to the back corner.
Then they started with the cell phone sales and that is what really drove me away. Every time I went in the first question they would ask is "What brand of cell phone do you have ?" followed by "Do you like it ?" Well that gets old fast.
If Radio Shack was "really" interested in the hobby market they should make a "starter kit" and once a month have a demonstration for the public showing how to get started in electronics.
It is sad to say, but if Radio Shack went under it really would not affect me at all. Okay, I take that back...I would be a little broken-hearted to see a store I loved so much as a kid disappear.
I imagine this is a bit frustrating for Parallax as they spent much of last year gearing up to provide RS with a complete line of inventory in retail packaging. Now RS may go through a contraction and individual outlets may just try to put existing inventory on sale and jump to some new 'item' for their bread and butter. This has been an established cycle with RS.
The good news is Parallax sold a lot to them last year. The bad news is that there may not be many reorders through them.
While they are more expensive than mail order when buying multiple components. They are cheaper if all you need is a pack of resistors or spool of solder.
I used to love going to RS back when they used to sell kits, etc. When I was a kid in the '70s I remember riding my bike miles to go to the local RS just to look. Sadly that changed when they decided to become a computer store and then a cell phone store.
@Bean I feel your pain about the high pressure cell phone sales. The last time I went to an RS I was met at the door by someone trying to convince me to buy a cell phone. I explained that I had a cell phone and a contract. The sales person insisted that I sell the phone and pay off the contract I had so I could buy a phone from him. Never had a chance and I turned and walked out.
I imagine this is a bit frustrating for Parallax as they spent much of last year gearing up to provide RS with a complete line of inventory in retail packaging. Now RS may go through a contraction and individual outlets may just try to put existing inventory on sale and jump to some new 'item' for their bread and butter. This has been an established cycle with RS.
Perhaps they could do sidewalk demonstrations of Parallax products outside of the storefronts. As Parallax has proven through their expos and various other gatherings, there is a definite interest, and I think RS would be wise to tap into this interest.
EDIT: New motto: More than a cell phone store!
EDIT: Perhaps this is an opportunity for Parallaxians. We could demo Parallax products as mentioned above and receive store credit or commission on the proceeds
I think RadioShack should redesign themselves capitalizing on their brick-and-mortar presence nearly everywhere. If I were in charge, I'd do a conversion of 100 stores to have at least 50% of the floor space fully converted to be a Tech Shop style of business serving hacker dens, maker spaces, science fair projects and robotics customers. Since this is mostly an American company, they would couple the conversion with a very innovative, prototype/experiment/entrepreneur, post-recession economic recovery theme like "Celebrate your Innovativeness and Creativity".
Every Saturday would feature a mass-deployed project that runs all day: learn to solder; sewable electronics, solar battery charging, etc. These projects would be self-guided and cost $25 each. Sure, it's a tall order, and it would take a total shake-up in the way the company operates. A real corporate evolution would look forward 50 years, leading the way. Such a change needs to be drastic to get the attention of media, customers, and suppliers.
This is very hard to do. There's a massive amount of established procedure in large companies. And people who run big retailers do exactly that most of the time - they're very good at logistics, financial, and knowing their current competition. Here, you need to add in the ability to understand the new $1B of annual revenue from the newly creative people and how they can capture their fair share.
It would become a new vision within a store, and if it goes well then the new vision replaces the current theme. I propose going back to their roots, but doing it the right way and capturing the sub-30 year old market their way, with the right products and theme.
To capture the attention of people like yourselves, they'd need a catchy phrase that shows they're different. This could make fun of their past, like Bruce pointed out above.
In the meantime, PLEASE continue to take your microcontroller projects into RadioShack and show their managers and customers in the way you have been doing.
= = = =
Let me add that this company is not one to be underestimated. Of all of our distributors they are the highest in terms of integrity, honesty, payment, cooperation and staff professionalism. It's an honor for us to work with them.
It looks virtually the same. Inside it's tiny, maybe 15 feet wide by 30 feet deep. Back in the day that space had to house the finely tuned Realistic hi-fis (some with quad!), CBs, and a ton of individual parts. We even had tubes, and a tube tester in the front.
In the 70s and even 80s you could sell electronics from these "hole in the wall" retail stores, but it's just not possible now. I agree with Ken that transforming a small selection of stores into "super centers" would be a good idea. And though I have fond memories of my six months at this particular store, where I learned sales techniques from the best salesman in the country (who was RS's leading sales maker in all of the Seattle area at the time), I'm sad to say I think it's time for these kind of stores to close, consolidate, and revamp.
I have three -- or maybe it's four -- RS stores within a 20 minute drive. Seldom does any one store have all the stock I need ... something or other is sold out. I would prefer one store that is larger and better stocked. I know RS likes their stores in the mall, but I've grown to detest malls, and the mall store here is simply larger, with about the same stock.
We don't have a Microcenter nearby, but we've got a Fry's in the nearby town. Fry's is pretty good at what they have, though even more expensive than RadioShack for many of the small parts. I'd like to see RS continue as a concern, just for the sake of competition, if nothing else. And who knows, maybe they'll start stocking my books again...
My overall impression is that Tandy Corporation never had the kind of passion for electronic technology that Ken's suggestions require. Tandy was in the hobby business and converted from leather crafts to electronics by buying Radio Shack. I imagine it was some rich Fort Worth Texans that figured there were no longer enough cowboys for growth in the saddle making market and Houston had become home to NASA. Beside, they might have belonged to the same country club as some Texas Instruments executives.
In sum, it has always been a rather sketchy business model -- very sales driven -- and it seems that the franchises are too independent to really get the ball rolling in one direction. Besides, I fear the days of the small retail shop being an outlet for hobby electronics via a franchise are past.
I was actually considering selling Radio Shack stock short today as I suspect it may disappear - like the paper soda straw and a few other things.
My overall impression is that Tandy Corporation never had the kind of passion for electronic technology that Ken's suggestions require.
I guess you've never heard of the TRS-80! They were the first major brand to target a personal computer toward both home and business. This was well before the PC came out, and when the Apple II was primarily for home or school. Radio Shack spent millions co-developing one of the first laptop portables, the Model 100, which was highly successful, selling a total of 6 million units world wide. All this was well after Tandy saw the writing on the wall and divested itself of its leather-goods business.
Whether or not flying under the Tandy banner name, RS has had plenty of passion for electronics. They were the key source of CBs in the country, and besides department stores like Sears and JCPenney, the largest retailers of home stereo equipment. They were among the first resellers of cordless phones, and are credited with helping to advance that market. In their day they sold *billions* of batteries, mostly at full retail price, second only to the largest retailers of the time such as K-Mart and Sears (looking for someone to short; try Sears Holdings!). And of course, they've continued to service electronics hobbyists by devoting over half their stores to components.
Radio Shack's problems today are the result of betting on mobile phones, which have ever-decreasing margins. In the US, cell phone retailers are among the largest casualties from the recession. People can buy phones and plans for less online, and at retailers like Walmart. The big test will be if RS stores can become a leader in selling the new iPhone 5. If so, that'll help fill the coffers a bit.
In the 80's you could buy logic IC's like flip flops, nand gates, latches, or timers at your local Radio Shack. I spent a fair amount of time fiddling with that and lighting up LED's. I'm pretty sure I learned binary from some Radio Shack publication or other. There were also the Forrest M Mims III books which got a lot of people started in electronics.
Not to mention my 200 in 1 electronics projects kit!
They need to get out of the cell phone business, get out of the malls, and go back to focusing on general electronics (with appropriate employee training). If they do that they may have a chance, maybe. Otherwise I give them 3 to 5 years.
RS was the goto place when I first started out in electronics in the mid 80's. I dropped a lot of money there.
Today's RS I don't like. Their emphasis on cell phones is killing them. It's a cut throat market and very few survive in it. Their staff is usually young and clueless and their component prices are outrageous.
The only way I shop there is if a need something ASAP or it's just a couple of components.
The one thing RS did that I hated at the time, but which I now think was a stroke of genius, was to move components off the pegs and into drawers. The storage efficiency increased tenfold without compromising their parts inventory. Although it appeared at the outset to be a deemphasis of their parts business -- and it was, I'm sure -- they could simply have said "screw it" instead and dumped the parts line altogether. But they did not, and I'm glad. Plus, having done so would have made a seque into the "maker" market nearly impossible.
jdolecki
Posts: 726
Comments
I would bet that very nearly 100% of the people who read that are more benefited by, and are more dependent upon "radio" than they were just a few years ago. To say that radio is a concept from a hundred years ago is strange to me. On the other hand, I guess many people don't consider their 3G, 4G, 2.4 GHz, bluetooth, Wifi etc. to be radio.
Imagine if Amazon wanted to open a store in every city, PLUS keep their big web site. The stores can't compete with the online component because of the high costs of keeping a physical presence. Their inventory will be minimal, and if they try to deepen it, their inventory costs skyrocket. The online site would try to throttle back to make sure the stores remain relevant. Of course this whole idea is obviously unworkable, but it's what RS is trying to do, just in reverse.
Retailers like Walmart have an online site, but they capitalize on the ship-to-store concept, and offer many other products not available at the stores (Costco does the same). In the case of Walmart and Costco, they're price leaders, since they know people online comparison shop. RS doesn't seem interested in competing on price as they aim for the convenience shopper, a concept that applies to physical stores but not online.
RadioShack is important for anyone in electronics because it's the last self-standing chain that sells resistors and capacitors. But I fear that unless they can come up with a mix that provides a path to growth for both their stores and online, we won't have them for long.
-Phil
I really hope you are wrong on this one Phil... Ouch...
I live in a rural town in the deseret and due to bad choices a few years ago and this economy Im am left with no job or drivers licence, could get my DL back but I need to pay my tickets kind of hard without work, I bust my *** walking everyday hoping to even get a job at mcdonalds or something, but nowhere is hiring ever and when they do they get alot of applicants for one posistion. Ok thats enough of my sob story heres how it applys to the RS situation.
In my town I cant even find 22 guage wire, the RC car hobby shop place doesn't even sell it. My local choices for materials are, Home Depot, Wal Mart, Autozone/Napa/Orielly, ya it sucks hard. So when I have money and need something there are 3 radio shacks about 25 miles over in the Palm Springs area, Getting a ride or something is usually fairly easy for me. When I go to RadioShack I usually buy things like decent soldier, hook up and wire wrap wire, bags of resistors, protoboards. Basically non specialty type items one needs on hand. This stuff cost about the same or more on digi-key plus shipping and waiting for wire kind of sucks. Now if I were to take a drive to the inland empire/LA area I would have my option of FRYs whole sellers etc.... Not having a liscense makes that trip harder and if I did have a DL at the moment I really have no need to go to those places and waste gas when there is digi key and RS.
Im sure theres alot of hobbyist out there in areas like mine where Radio Shack is there only option to when they screw an SMT board up and need a conductive Ink Pen to fix it immediately! I had stopped going to radio shack a long time ago there was one in my town for years which closed 3 years ago. I remmber when I was in elementary school jr hi, I would go there and get Forest mimms books and passives to satisfy my quest for knowlege. A few years back I went there and there electronics section was basically connectors and piezo speakers... until recently the only thing id bought at an RS was a pricey police scanner and a HAM book. When I started getting back into electronics and went back to a RS I was amazed to see ardunios and propeller boards not to mention KITS like when i was a kid and oh so admired the ramsey catalog there. All three RS have three big isles of electronics stuff!! Its very convient when you need something and your willing to pay a bit extra.
I gotta say if things go back to radio shack being a cell phone store that has some heat shrink tubes I will be very very sad. Hopefully they will stay the same and cut some prices...
I have two Radioshack stores within driving distance, one i could walk to if I had to. I haven't been in either one in over 6 years. They just don't have anything I'm willing to pay for. I get my parts from Mouser and occasionally other online sellers. I have to accumulate items I need and place an order every month or so. Much cheaper than Radioshack, even with the shipping factored in. If I decide to order just a few parts because I don't want to wait to place a larger order it's still not much worse. Shipping is normally two days from TX to MS (USPS ftw), I can wait.
-Phil
I guess things are different in the mall stores that you frequent. My local RS Associate store was started by an ex-Lockheed engineer from CA back in the '70s and has been repurchased a couple times since. In each case, the owner has been conversant with electronics, and the store continues to be an integral and needed part of the community. Moreover, they carry non-RS items that they purchase independently, in addition to the usual RS stuff. I guess it's just one of the advantages of living in a small town.
-Phil
As stated it is hard to keep open so many stores, Maplin a UK electronics store has cut back over the years and have very few stores and mainly sell on their website, if it wasnt for the website I wonder if they would still be trading?
Now that RS has started offering items from Parallax and Arduino, I believe they still have a chance for survival, however, I do believe they will have to take a more aggressive and grass roots approach. Considering the flood of personal communication devices seen over the last decade, which is available from so many different sources, I truly believe RS should once again start leaning more towards the electonic enthusiast market, however, I also believe they should start marketing in a similar fashion like Parallax, by working their way into schools and local community groups. I do not believe that RS will survive as a retail outlet, without such an aggressive approach.
Bruce
Back when I started to become interested in buying electronics components, there was a local outlet on Market Street in San Francisco called Zack's Radio. If you couldn't get what you wanted there, you had to purchase out of a catalog and the choices were Allied Radio that seemed to have nearly everything and Radio Shack which was a back up choice.
Somewhere along the way, Tandy Leather Corporation purchased Radio Shack and started to franchise retail outlets.
These days with Digikey, Mouser, and RS Solutions on the Web, I have wondered how retail outlets can survive. Shopping for sophisticated components is now something that can be done at home. Just about every kind of physical retail outlet is suffering, but especially those that sell small items that can be delivered to your door quite easily.
It always helps to have a proprietor and sales people that are well informed about both products and what the customer interests are, but even those two assets are less of value with the customer being able to search the Web for all and everything in the way of information.
Propellers and Arduinos are certainly helping to attract walk-in customers; but when one has to pay rent for retail space and still offer prices competative with those that do not, I wonder how this will pan out.
But then things went downhill and the sales people didn't even know what a resistor was or what it did. When I asked for a part they would just point to the back corner.
Then they started with the cell phone sales and that is what really drove me away. Every time I went in the first question they would ask is "What brand of cell phone do you have ?" followed by "Do you like it ?" Well that gets old fast.
If Radio Shack was "really" interested in the hobby market they should make a "starter kit" and once a month have a demonstration for the public showing how to get started in electronics.
It is sad to say, but if Radio Shack went under it really would not affect me at all. Okay, I take that back...I would be a little broken-hearted to see a store I loved so much as a kid disappear.
Bean
The good news is Parallax sold a lot to them last year. The bad news is that there may not be many reorders through them.
Perf board
solder
iron tips
discrete components (e.g. resistors, capacitors, transistors)
hookup wire
jacks
LED's
side cutters
wire strippers
illuminated magnifiers.
While they are more expensive than mail order when buying multiple components. They are cheaper if all you need is a pack of resistors or spool of solder.
@Bean I feel your pain about the high pressure cell phone sales. The last time I went to an RS I was met at the door by someone trying to convince me to buy a cell phone. I explained that I had a cell phone and a contract. The sales person insisted that I sell the phone and pay off the contract I had so I could buy a phone from him. Never had a chance and I turned and walked out.
Perhaps they could do sidewalk demonstrations of Parallax products outside of the storefronts. As Parallax has proven through their expos and various other gatherings, there is a definite interest, and I think RS would be wise to tap into this interest.
EDIT: New motto: More than a cell phone store!
EDIT: Perhaps this is an opportunity for Parallaxians. We could demo Parallax products as mentioned above and receive store credit or commission on the proceeds
EDIT: Maybe even a coup d'
Every Saturday would feature a mass-deployed project that runs all day: learn to solder; sewable electronics, solar battery charging, etc. These projects would be self-guided and cost $25 each. Sure, it's a tall order, and it would take a total shake-up in the way the company operates. A real corporate evolution would look forward 50 years, leading the way. Such a change needs to be drastic to get the attention of media, customers, and suppliers.
This is very hard to do. There's a massive amount of established procedure in large companies. And people who run big retailers do exactly that most of the time - they're very good at logistics, financial, and knowing their current competition. Here, you need to add in the ability to understand the new $1B of annual revenue from the newly creative people and how they can capture their fair share.
It would become a new vision within a store, and if it goes well then the new vision replaces the current theme. I propose going back to their roots, but doing it the right way and capturing the sub-30 year old market their way, with the right products and theme.
To capture the attention of people like yourselves, they'd need a catchy phrase that shows they're different. This could make fun of their past, like Bruce pointed out above.
In the meantime, PLEASE continue to take your microcontroller projects into RadioShack and show their managers and customers in the way you have been doing.
= = = =
Let me add that this company is not one to be underestimated. Of all of our distributors they are the highest in terms of integrity, honesty, payment, cooperation and staff professionalism. It's an honor for us to work with them.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=4505+CALIFORNIA+AVE+SW+SEATTLE,+WA+98116&hl=en&ll=47.562705,-122.386771&spn=0.00068,0.001206&safe=off&hnear=4505+California+Ave+SW,+Seattle,+Washington+98116&gl=us&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=47.562705,-122.386771&panoid=tyylnQtl_wC7HtOQBDbwOg&cbp=12,269.24,,0,1.25
It looks virtually the same. Inside it's tiny, maybe 15 feet wide by 30 feet deep. Back in the day that space had to house the finely tuned Realistic hi-fis (some with quad!), CBs, and a ton of individual parts. We even had tubes, and a tube tester in the front.
In the 70s and even 80s you could sell electronics from these "hole in the wall" retail stores, but it's just not possible now. I agree with Ken that transforming a small selection of stores into "super centers" would be a good idea. And though I have fond memories of my six months at this particular store, where I learned sales techniques from the best salesman in the country (who was RS's leading sales maker in all of the Seattle area at the time), I'm sad to say I think it's time for these kind of stores to close, consolidate, and revamp.
I have three -- or maybe it's four -- RS stores within a 20 minute drive. Seldom does any one store have all the stock I need ... something or other is sold out. I would prefer one store that is larger and better stocked. I know RS likes their stores in the mall, but I've grown to detest malls, and the mall store here is simply larger, with about the same stock.
We don't have a Microcenter nearby, but we've got a Fry's in the nearby town. Fry's is pretty good at what they have, though even more expensive than RadioShack for many of the small parts. I'd like to see RS continue as a concern, just for the sake of competition, if nothing else. And who knows, maybe they'll start stocking my books again...
-- Gordon
In sum, it has always been a rather sketchy business model -- very sales driven -- and it seems that the franchises are too independent to really get the ball rolling in one direction. Besides, I fear the days of the small retail shop being an outlet for hobby electronics via a franchise are past.
I was actually considering selling Radio Shack stock short today as I suspect it may disappear - like the paper soda straw and a few other things.
I guess you've never heard of the TRS-80! They were the first major brand to target a personal computer toward both home and business. This was well before the PC came out, and when the Apple II was primarily for home or school. Radio Shack spent millions co-developing one of the first laptop portables, the Model 100, which was highly successful, selling a total of 6 million units world wide. All this was well after Tandy saw the writing on the wall and divested itself of its leather-goods business.
Whether or not flying under the Tandy banner name, RS has had plenty of passion for electronics. They were the key source of CBs in the country, and besides department stores like Sears and JCPenney, the largest retailers of home stereo equipment. They were among the first resellers of cordless phones, and are credited with helping to advance that market. In their day they sold *billions* of batteries, mostly at full retail price, second only to the largest retailers of the time such as K-Mart and Sears (looking for someone to short; try Sears Holdings!). And of course, they've continued to service electronics hobbyists by devoting over half their stores to components.
Radio Shack's problems today are the result of betting on mobile phones, which have ever-decreasing margins. In the US, cell phone retailers are among the largest casualties from the recession. People can buy phones and plans for less online, and at retailers like Walmart. The big test will be if RS stores can become a leader in selling the new iPhone 5. If so, that'll help fill the coffers a bit.
-- Gordon
Not to mention my 200 in 1 electronics projects kit!
Today's RS I don't like. Their emphasis on cell phones is killing them. It's a cut throat market and very few survive in it. Their staff is usually young and clueless and their component prices are outrageous.
The only way I shop there is if a need something ASAP or it's just a couple of components.
-Phil