The Shack is back!

[JohnnyMalaria]

Yup, that trusty go-to Radio Shack is back.



https://www.radioshack.com/

And still selling their usual stuff...

[ataradov]

I'm guessing some dodgy company bought a name and wants to to milk it a bit longer?

[JohnnyMalaria]

I don't think so.

They own these pretty well-known stores, too:



EDIT: In case the image doesn't behave: Linens-n-Things, Pier 1, Dressbarn, Farmerscart, The Franklin Mint, Modell's Sporting Goods and MentorBox.

[ataradov]

I thought Pier 1 went bankrupt last year. It looks like they buying them at a bargain price.

[vk6zgo]

I'm guessing some dodgy company bought a name and wants to to milk it a bit longer?

Like the big "bottom of the foodchain" importer (Kogan) that bought Dick Smith's name in Oz!
Of course, that was after *Woolworth's in Oz had already  sucked that once popular electronics shop dry!

*Just for general background, Woolworths in this country is not related to the original (now defunct) US company.
Back in the early 1900s, some "sharpie" jumped in & registered the Woolworth's name in Oz!

[ataradov]

The catalog of the electronics-related stuff in the new RS is pretty limited with no really unique items and stuff that is there is priced stupidly high. Not sure how that make any sense.

Also, behold this artwork of a review (https://www.radioshack.com/products/spdt-switch-w-roller-lever):

Switch allows flow of electrons between contacts.
This switch has some leads and the roller lever. The microswitch correctly allows electrons to pass over the leads when the lever is depressed. Features a durable outer casing to prevent fall-apart.

On a stupid switch that they sell for $5.

[temperance]

I only remember them as gangsters ripping of kids who wanted to play with a BC547. They charged a little over €5 for two BC547 in a blister package in 1986.

[xrunner]

OMG! I got that radio when most of the stores went out of business what was it - 6 -8 years ago? It was dirt cheap trying to clear out the store, and I put it in the garage. They are still selling the same one!

 

https://www.radioshack.com/collections/hot-products/products/radioshack-am-fm-wx-table-radio

[pickle9000]

kinda crazy. I know Tandy Leather still exists but it's another company now.

[vk6zgo]

I only remember them as gangsters ripping of kids who wanted to play with a BC547. They charged a little over €5 for two BC547 in a blister package in 1986.

The only thing I found the Oz version much good for was if I wanted to get something done, but couldn't be bothered going to Radiospares, or even Dick Smith, etc.
I would "eat" the extra cost, just to have the component.

Another thing I found, was that sometimes they had "weird" non (Oz) mainstream stuff.

On one occasion,  I was fixing a neigbour's car radio, which had an unusual Audio output IC.
Strolling through Tandy's, I noticed an IC with an almost identical suggested circuit application on the package, so bought it.
Different package, but specs, etc just about right--bodged it in!

At around this time I found I was "too busy" to be helpful for that neighbour.
He worked at the rubbish tip-------make of that what you will!

[jpanhalt]

If you scroll to the bottom, you will see Opco,LLC.  What does that mean?

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/opco.asp

In simple terms, it is a restructured limited liability company that could be an attempt at revitalization, or could simply be selling off assets.  That certainly seems to fit the other brands with which the "new" RadioShack" is associated.

[oPossum]

An interview with the new management...

[luma]

This is the parent company: https://www.retailecommerceventures.com/

Their business model is to buy up recognized brands that have gone out of business, and then open up a direct-ship shop under the name selling related goods.

[rsjsouza]

This has happened with RCA, Westinghouse, Kodak and many other well known brands around. Sears still has an online presence, as well as its branch searspartsdirect.com for appliance parts (which I am a big fan).

[JohnnyMalaria]

This is the parent company: https://www.retailecommerceventures.com/

Their business model is to buy up recognized brands that have gone out of business, and then open up a direct-ship shop under the name selling related goods.

It seems they also want to maintain some kind of physical presence with a lot of authorized dealers:

https://www.radioshack.com/pages/store-locator

[DrG]

An interview with the new management...

Thank you for posting that, I found it compelling.

*gosh* there is so much I want to say, but I will be brief.

I thought Ladyada knew more about the topic than Mr. Lopez. I understand that he has a rich history and he had a lot to do with the original issues of Make Magazine (which I thought were excellent and timely). On the other hand,  he had very little to say in terms of a tangible vision. As far as I can tell, he wants to grow the 500 existing stores and let the individual owners do what they want with them ().

Ladyada said that RS was making money "every once in a while" with a few products that hit a niche at the right time (I am paraphrasing). The big problem that I see, beyond what I have already said is: why is the brand worth attending to? I just don't see that it is, at least not today. If it becomes something special, it could do so without that brand recognition.

I am not married to these positions, I am just thinking about it....

[rsjsouza]

I thought the same; Tai Lopez looks to me as a typical customer of the old Radio Shack that has a lot of enthusiasm for finally owning the brand of his dreams (something like Dave getting the Dick Smith brand). However, it is clear that Limor and Phil have a lot of experience in this business and were pretty much giving free advice. I personally hope the brand makes a comeback and is able to create a physical presence as well as a strong online presence.

[Jester]

I enjoyed visiting RS in the early 70's,  it's been a slow decline for 50 years.

I received their 100 in1 science-fair? electronics project kit, the one with the springy terminals etc. when I was in grade school for Christmas, that was fun.

[SilverSolder]

It's good to have a Radio Shack around when you need something immediately.  Hope they succeed with the new, smaller scale stores / partnerships.

[jh15]

Many broadcast stations were returned/kept on the air, especially Sundays for them having parts or items for an engineer in an emergency.

[ataradov]

Yeah, but that was a long time ago. Now they sell Chinese crap at 10x markup. The name is irrelevant, contents is what matters. And the RS as it is today is a pointless waste of effort.

[SilverSolder]

The online store is pointless...  but physical locations have a point, especially when there are no alternatives in the area.

They should cooperate with Adafruit et al and carry some of their stuff too.

[DrG]

The online store is pointless...  but physical locations have a point, especially when there are no alternatives in the area.

They should cooperate with Adafruit et al and carry some of their stuff too.

I concur and that is what the US chain Microcenter https://www.microcenter.com/ has done. If you go there and search for adafruit, elenco, a whole bunch of popular brands, you will see a whole bunch of stuff. In fact, if you browse their DIY section, you will likely find a couple of thousand entries. I was last there to pick up three RPi Picos, which they had on sale for $2 (regular price $4). I have gone to them many times (less often during CoVid) for a variety of items - UNO clones, LEDs, solder - stuff that I might want now and without shipping charges or delays and with the benefit of seeing the thing.

The challenge for RS, as I see it, is that you would need to carry MORE than a store like Microcenter is carrying and I don't know if Microcenter makes any money off of their DIY section. It is only a small part of the store and they already carry more, in general, than RS ever did.

Then of course, there is maintenance of the stock in a reasonable fashion. Many products get superseded with faster or better products at lower prices. These become dead end products for all but the most needy or naive customer. Additionally, organization is an issue. While their online inventory is basically accurate, if it only shows 1 or 2, you might be searching for a while.

Sure, I would love to see a consignment based system that would sell all sorts of specific things (try getting a bezel for a 1.8" LCD). I just don't know the fiscally reasonable side of that.

It is going to be a challenge for sure.

[ataradov]

Microcenter is good, but the closest one to me is 6 hours of driving. This is an issue. The model does not scale well. If you have one close to you - great, otherwise you are out of luck. And in this case majority of people are out of luck.

Old RS had way more stores, but it would obviously be hard to do what Microcenter does with more locations.

[DrG]

Microcenter is good, but the closest one to me is 6 hours of driving. This is an issue. The model does not scale well. If you have one close to you - great, otherwise you are out of luck. And in this case majority of people are out of luck.

Old RS had way more stores, but it would obviously be hard to do what Microcenter does with more locations.

Concur, but they (Microcenter) may be growing - not likely to ever reach the 8,000 US RS stores (is that what I heard correctly?), but neither is the new RS. Still, there may be room somewhere (community-dependent) for something brick and mortar....I mean, it is not out of the question and that seems to be their hope.

I would like to know whether Microcenter actually makes a profit on their DIY.