Radio Shack Closing 1,100 Stores - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Family Ties Forever! · 03-05-2014, 06:42 AM

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Radio Shack Closing 1,100 Stores
Move by electronics retailer shutters nearly 20% of its locations
Author: By Chris Isidore
Posted: Mar 4, 2014 7:11 AM CST Updated On: Mar 4, 2014 3:03 PM CST

New York (CNNMoney) - Electronics retailer Radio Shack plans to close as many as 1,100 stores -- or nearly 20% of its locations. The company said Tuesday that the closings will leave it with more than 4,000 stores, including 900 operated as franchise locations. Radio Shack also reported that sales at stores open at least a year fell 19% in the last quarter, which included the important holiday shopping period. It blamed the drop on traffic declines and weak sales of mobile devices such as cell phones. Its net loss in the period roughly tripled.

CEO Joseph Magnacca told investors that the stores to be closed were lower performing locations had been forecast to lose money this year. Radio Shack has one of the largest footprints of any U.S. retailer, with about 5,200 locations in the United States. Company filings say that more than 90% of the U.S. population lives or works within minutes of a Radio Shack location. Chief financial officer John Feray said that within five miles of his Fort Worth, Texas, home there are eight Radio Shack stores.

"So, in that example, we are over-stored," he said. By comparison, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, has about 3,700 U.S. stores, while Best Buy, one of Radio Shack's major competitors in the electronics sector, has 1,400 U.S. locations. Radio Shack has 27,500 employees worldwide. The number of jobs that will be lost in the store closings was not disclosed, nor were the locations. Radio Shack has also publicly admitted its current stores are out of date and in need of a massive overhaul. Its Super Bowl ad this year was a self-deprecating acknowledgment that its stores are stuck in the 1980s. It has closed about 100 U.S. stores each of the last two years.

Brick-and-mortar retailers, especially those in electronics such as Radio Shack and Best Buy have faced particularly tough competition from online retailers such as Amazon in recent years. Shoppers are likely to engage in a practice known as "showrooming" in which they go to a brick-and-mortar store to look at a product, but then purchase it online, generally at a lower price. Best Buy is also in the process of closing stores as part of its own cost-cutting effort.
Shares of Radio Shack plunged more than 13% in midday trading Tuesday on the news, although it was well above earlier lows.

Copyright 2014 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved.

Penny Lane · 03-06-2014, 02:31 PM

I think that the internet has killed a lot of businesses. I very rarely shop in stores anymore. Only if I have to! Still it's sad to see these well established businesses going under.

icecream · 03-06-2014, 03:43 PM

I'm not surprised. I got my mom a DVD player from Radio Shack last year and it was a piece of junk, they had somehow lost the remote that went with it and the universal remote they threw in was worthless. She had to return it and get a DVD player from somewhere else, it worked right away.

Coffeecup · 03-08-2014, 10:55 PM

We have a Radio Shack near by. I tend to think the Best Buy stores were the reason for RS decline but the article says BB are having trouble too. I an bit nervous buying something sight unseen so haven't done much online.

03-05-2014, 06:42 AM	#1
Family Ties Forever! Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 16, 2002 Location: Keaton residence Posts: 10,214	Radio Shack Closing 1,100 Stores link Radio Shack Closing 1,100 Stores Move by electronics retailer shutters nearly 20% of its locations Author: By Chris Isidore Posted: Mar 4, 2014 7:11 AM CST Updated On: Mar 4, 2014 3:03 PM CST New York (CNNMoney) - Electronics retailer Radio Shack plans to close as many as 1,100 stores -- or nearly 20% of its locations. The company said Tuesday that the closings will leave it with more than 4,000 stores, including 900 operated as franchise locations. Radio Shack also reported that sales at stores open at least a year fell 19% in the last quarter, which included the important holiday shopping period. It blamed the drop on traffic declines and weak sales of mobile devices such as cell phones. Its net loss in the period roughly tripled. CEO Joseph Magnacca told investors that the stores to be closed were lower performing locations had been forecast to lose money this year. Radio Shack has one of the largest footprints of any U.S. retailer, with about 5,200 locations in the United States. Company filings say that more than 90% of the U.S. population lives or works within minutes of a Radio Shack location. Chief financial officer John Feray said that within five miles of his Fort Worth, Texas, home there are eight Radio Shack stores. "So, in that example, we are over-stored," he said. By comparison, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, has about 3,700 U.S. stores, while Best Buy, one of Radio Shack's major competitors in the electronics sector, has 1,400 U.S. locations. Radio Shack has 27,500 employees worldwide. The number of jobs that will be lost in the store closings was not disclosed, nor were the locations. Radio Shack has also publicly admitted its current stores are out of date and in need of a massive overhaul. Its Super Bowl ad this year was a self-deprecating acknowledgment that its stores are stuck in the 1980s. It has closed about 100 U.S. stores each of the last two years. Brick-and-mortar retailers, especially those in electronics such as Radio Shack and Best Buy have faced particularly tough competition from online retailers such as Amazon in recent years. Shoppers are likely to engage in a practice known as "showrooming" in which they go to a brick-and-mortar store to look at a product, but then purchase it online, generally at a lower price. Best Buy is also in the process of closing stores as part of its own cost-cutting effort. Shares of Radio Shack plunged more than 13% in midday trading Tuesday on the news, although it was well above earlier lows. Copyright 2014 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved.
	__________________ Jenny

03-06-2014, 02:31 PM	#2
Penny Lane Butter Pie Forum Icon Join Date: Jul 03, 2001 Location: Beneath the blue suburban skies Posts: 51,271	I think that the internet has killed a lot of businesses. I very rarely shop in stores anymore. Only if I have to! Still it's sad to see these well established businesses going under.
	__________________ Vulgarity is no substitute for wit- Lady Violet Crawley

03-06-2014, 03:43 PM	#3
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,867	I'm not surprised. I got my mom a DVD player from Radio Shack last year and it was a piece of junk, they had somehow lost the remote that went with it and the universal remote they threw in was worthless. She had to return it and get a DVD player from somewhere else, it worked right away.
	__________________ Top 200 TV Shows https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...14#post6225214 Top 150 Movies https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...84#post6175384 Top 1100 Scripted TV Characters https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=493306 Top Rookie TV Shows by Calendar Year https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=365017 Top Movies by Calendar Year https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=473533

03-08-2014, 10:55 PM	#4
Coffeecup coffeecup. Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 17, 2003 Location: snoozeville Posts: 3,183	We have a Radio Shack near by. I tend to think the Best Buy stores were the reason for RS decline but the article says BB are having trouble too. I an bit nervous buying something sight unseen so haven't done much online.