The RadioShack story... - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 01:41:29 pm
content: Awww well, your going to have to watch on YouTube directly...

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 03:16:59 pm
content: He's dead,JimBrian.

author: tchicago
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 03:59:20 pm
content: I visit Australia once a year, and every time I'm there I also visit the Jaycar store. It is a chain that resembles the old days of Radioshack, and also resembles the parts section of Fry's electronics while it existed. It somehow manages to thrive there. Maybe it is a climate.

author: tchicago
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 04:06:06 pm
content: "...drastically reduced the product offering from 40000 items to 2500 ... representing 80% of sales."This is how a good store chain enters the death spiral. The Trader Joe's is now undergoing this change. It used to be a go-to store for very unique products, but now they offer the exact same selection of products as Safeway or Fred Meyer that is next door on the same plaza.Same with the fast food: every unique fast food chain eventually evolves into another McDonalds clone. One MBA managerial step at a time...

author: BadeBhaiya
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 05:08:03 pm
content: Good watch. An almost hundred year span sounds great for a business like this.I don't believe that it was their failure to adapt to e-commerce is what led to their downfall. Seems like the age old story, new management doesn't understand the customer base and instead of putting effort into understanding their needs, they reposition the business to cater to a whole new customer base. So now they have no customers, at least until they can adapt to the new base.Still I wonder if they could've become a better digikey/mouser/farnell, but maybe faster/more convenient etc

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 06:18:10 pm
content: IMHO there is a whole lost of reasons why electronics stores went away. I think one very important reason is that parts got so cheap. If you take an old electronics magazine, you'll find advertisements for jellybean transistors costing several US dollars. Compensated for inflation you could end up paying $10 for a single transistor. That results in quite a high turnover and profit to be made from such sales. Nowadays you buy the same transistor for 10 cents. That is 100 times cheaper but also 100 times less turnover while having increased cost for the store and personel. Selling parts from a store just won't work as a business nowadays.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 06:20:15 pm
content: Quote from: tchicago on May 04, 2025, 04:06:06 pmHmm; that hasn't been my experience.I don't get to Traitor Joe's as much as I used to; used to go there weekly when I lived near one.Now the nearest one is more than an hour's drive away from me.But the last time I was there (couple months ago), I saw pretty much the same items I was used to, and certainly different things than were available at Safeway, Freddie Meyer, etc. Especially their house-brand items. Cheaper and better.Maybe it's just the store you shop at?

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 06:24:04 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on May 04, 2025, 06:18:10 pmDunno about that, especially if we're talking about Radio Shack. You must remember that itty-bitty components--semiconductors, resistors, caps, etc.--were never that big a part of RS's inventory. Sure, they had a pretty good selection, but there were a lot more items like wireless phones, audio equipment, radios, bigger-ticket items that were profitable. So I'm not sure that was even a significant reason why they eventually went under.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 06:46:01 pm
content: Radio Shack Catalogs.comthe history is huge they go back to 1939!I realized they were outsourcing manufacturing (and some design) to Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Korea. As well as importing components - enclosures, PCB, caps, resistors etc.Nuclear-fueling an electronics industry in Asia. But ultimately to its demise. Interesting that business model continues today, but it's goods from china.Their markup was quite high with the franchised retail stores, they were too expensive and known for a new drop in quality starting in the 1970's. We nicknamed them "rip shack" for the ripoff. Project-Board kits using all Radio Shack components, parts costed a good fortune.They went all in Texas style. TRS-80 personal computing like Heathkit, many companies spent fortunes on PC development only to have it not pay off.Tandy has so many sub-brands - Archer, Radio Shack, Micronta, Realistic etc.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 07:02:38 pm
content: What I'm curious about is their relationship with Tandy, which was a leather-products company, and how the two got joined together."Hey, come into Tandy Radio Shack for transistors and some leather dye!"

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 07:21:44 pm
content: I remember Tandy’s leather crafts from my Cub Scouts days.Branching out into other hobbies, they acquired Radio Shack in 1963.Before bankruptcy, they spun off Tandy Leather Factory, which is still in operation.They acquired Allied Radio from LTV in 1970, merging it into Radio Shack, and eventually selling it to Avnet.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 07:24:57 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on May 04, 2025, 07:02:38 pmIt could be Tandy is just an investment firm like Nokia. Nokia has a long list of non-electronics stuff like wood and rubber boots IIRC. These kind of firms get into business where they can make money.AFAIK Tandy was the brand used abroad. In the city where I grew up, there was a Tandy electronics store for a couple of years.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 07:34:37 pm
content: I found Radio Shack Memorial IssueDec. 1978In Memoriam: Charles Tandy."... In the Navy, he put together the selling lessons from the magazine and punchboard and leather scrap businesses with the techniques picked up in the Monnig's basement shoe department (he always said if you could sell ladies’ shoes you could sell anything) and set a Navy record peddling war bonds.This honed a talent he would use when he brought Tandy securities to Wall Street in later years.From the start of Tandy Leather, just about everything is known about his business career. Perhaps because he made it look so easy, few realize the careful planning that went into it.In February 1966, he agreed (1) we would try to build a $1,000,000,000 per year business or (2) have $500,000,000 in assets; or both, by the time we were 60 years old and (3) we would both stay to that point.The one billion dollars came right on the nose, when Charles was 60. He was 60 last May 15.Along the way, with all the hard work and long hours, he never was too busy to be kind or thoughtful or to remember people.In 1972 he cancelled an important business meeting to go to the funeral of Estella Dunn, who 45 years earlier alternately scolded us or slipped us cookies out of her kitchen. There were only four white people in the chapel.All of us know of his greatness as a retailer, as a financier. Those closest to him saw the fun it was for him — the sales gains, the new financing, the bonuses, the trips to impress the financial analysts with the great command of facts he carried in his head about the Company. Money became just something with which to keep score. It was the fun, the game, the chase, those were the things. Victories to bring home to Anne.That counted. Always the fun, looking to the next projection to beat. It was fun, fun all the Way, Charles. But, God, how we'll miss you.— Phil R. North Chairman of the Board and President, Tandy Corporation"

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 07:46:12 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on May 04, 2025, 07:21:44 pmI have an Allied Radio Solid State Stereophonic Receiver Model 445 sitting right here on my desk. Bought used from a friend in 1975, still works just fine (after re-capping). Japanese, made by Mitsubishi, Pioneer or some such.I used to frequent the Allied Radio store in downtown Evanston, Ill. when I was a kid. They had lots of used audio gear for $cheap$ that I used to cart home and tinker with.(LTV = Ling-Temco-Vought)

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 07:47:38 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on May 04, 2025, 07:24:57 pmBut did they have RS stuff? Everything Radio Shack sold was RS-branded.

author: NE666
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 07:49:56 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on May 04, 2025, 07:24:57 pmCertainly so in the UK, where all the stores operated as Tandy despite having references to Radio Shack appear in the printed product catalogues available in store. However, the consumer products themselves (e.g. tape decks, HiFi separates etc.) used the 'Realistic' brand.The rights to the Tandy brand were purchased by a UK company, where they still trade online at tandyonline.com. I initially thought it was a scam but I've placed three orders with them for some interesting end-of-line kits and ICs, and all were supplied as expected.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 07:51:12 pm
content: As I remember, LTV in its heyday was supposed to be the future, where totally unrelated businesses, joined together, would exploit synergy and take over the world.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 07:52:44 pm
content: Quote from: NE666 on May 04, 2025, 07:49:56 pmTheir test equipment--VOMs, etc.--was sold under the "Micronta" brand.

author: NE666
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 08:00:25 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on May 04, 2025, 07:52:44 pm'Archer' in the UK. Books and some other hobby kits were sold under the Radio Shack brand.A complete jumble really, which I didn't give any thought to at the time.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 08:06:36 pm
content: Stumbled onto "Tandy Corporation and RadioShack Corporation Annual Reports, 1961–1975, 1981, 1983–1985, 1990–1991, 1994–2002".1995Annual Report as an example. They were insanely big 6,900 stores in the USA. Not sure I could make sense through the smoke and mirrors accounting.1999 ".. we achieved $4.1B in sales strongest year ever", double digit growth EPS 18-22% etc.2002 "... net sales and operating revenues $4.8B... down 4.2% from 2001" {Then a revamp of the stores is the plan. OOPS.}2014 - more than two years since Radio Shack made a profit, closing 1,100 stores, "stores are out of date"2015 - Filed for bankruptcy Feb. 2015; 1,700 stores.BUBBLE ALERT BUBBLE ALERT BUBBLEEEEEEE or the HEDGE FUNDS I bet killed it.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 08:11:39 pm
content: Quote from: NE666 on May 04, 2025, 08:00:25 pmHere too.Forgot about that brand.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 08:23:10 pm
content: Since LTV (Ling-Temco-Vought) was mentioned here, I have a (very) small claim-to-fame story:I once met, in person, one of the initials of another famous 3-letter conglomerate:My boss at the time was friends with Dean ("Deano") Wooldridge of TRW (Thompson Ramo Wooldridge), and I met him at a party.He was a quiet guy, what Yiddish speakers would call a "nebbish", kind of withdrawn.But rich!

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 08:49:49 pm
content: TRW, another somewhat disparate conglomerate, was eventually acquired by Northrup Grumman, who sold off miscellaneous bits to others.The TRW automotive division ended up with ZF Friedrichshafen, which was founded by Graf von Zeppelin to make airships, but moved into automotive equipment due to airship limitations in the Treaty of Versailles.In reading about Zeppelins, I was surprised to learn that the Count was inspired to develop dirigibles (steerable lighter-than-air craft) by a visit to Minnesota during the American Civil War, where he ascended in a balloon (possibly at the State Fair?).

author: audiotubes
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 08:57:28 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on May 04, 2025, 06:24:04 pmDepends on the year. Until the late 1970s wall parts were indeed a major part of Radio Shack. I would say more than half the shop space was wall parts, tools, solder, antennas, cable, etc. and the rest was radios (mostly CB, SW) in display cases.True enough, when wireless phones became a thing, that was probably the beginning of the end.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 09:05:38 pm
content: At the end of their physical stores in Chicago, they were a good source for a wide range of batteries.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 09:31:12 pm
content: You realize- it's intentional to sink these big retailers? Financial scumbags plot to make money sinking a retailer. The company borrows money to the max, purports to do revamps of the stores, turn it all around, but all the while losing money etc.Maplin and Dick Smith had the same attack. Dick Smith bought boat loads,12 year's supplyof AA alkaline batteries- it was crazy obvious to sink the company.Maplin - just look at the loans they took out after the handoff.Hedge funds prosper greatly as the ship goes down, as planned. Blame the economy, the stores, the business etc.I'm not sure but Radio Shack I would bet was the same game being played. As a rat, you can make money over failing businesses. Exec wages included.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 11:02:14 pm
content: Quote from: tchicago on May 04, 2025, 03:59:20 pmJaycar have seven shops in Auckland and another dozen in smaller towns around NZ, including 30 minutes from me in Whangarei (pop 55k). I was in there a few weeks ago buying some wire, fuses, switches, heatshrink, solder and browsing their 3D printers (Creality, Elegoo, Bambu) and solar power stuff (panels, charge controllers, inverters, batteries, ....). They also have Raspberry Pi, AVR and PIC chips, 7400-series, transistors and passive components, op amps, 555s, ADCs, motor drivers, EPROMs etc etc though it can be spotty which are in stock at smaller stores. All the above are in Whangarei at the moment.Judging by the amount of the store devoted to it, and what other customers were looking at / buying, I suspect it's largely our high local percentage of DIY off-grid people (including yachts and RVs) that keeps them going at the moment.I think they took over some of the Dick Smith Electronics sites when those closed down.I was in Fiji for a couple of months this time last year. There was a Jaycar agent in Suva with decent stock, and in Nadi (where I was) Bondwell and HBTech (a couple of hundred metres apart!) had a surprisingly good range too, though not components.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 11:20:27 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on May 04, 2025, 06:18:10 pmHere on a remote island nation in the South Pacific ocean they can still sell a transistor or a 74LS00 ($2.30, just checked) for a couple of bucks for people who need it TODAY and not wait a week for Digikey or two weeks for Aliexpress.Not to mention that if I buy a $1.26 74LS00 from Digikey it's going to cost me ... I just checked ... $31.35 in total including $26 shipping and $4.09 tax on the landed cost (mostly the shipping...).And then you also have all the more heavy items such as 200Ah deep cycle off-grid batteries which would cost an absolute fortune to send from the US or China with DHL, but they bring in in 20 foot containers on ships. And the Li-ion batteries (and things containing them) which can't be sent by air at all.Different thing in the USA where Amazon can get you almost anything overnight and the "Amazon Basics" and other popular stuff same day in the larger cities that have the same or greater population than my entire country.