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RadioShack
The Next Extinct Retailer
RadioShack - The Next Extinct Retailer by Jordan at Investing Blog
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It has been said that technology companies just don’t last as long as their low-tech counterparts. But Radioshack, one of the oldest brands in the electronics space, has had quite a run. It’s probably about time that run came to an end. Remember RadioShack? Remember the RadioShack that had exclusive products? The RadioShack that had everything radio controlled, and was kept in business by the nerdiest of the nerdiest? Remember those free battery cards that allowed you to get a free battery once per month? The new RadioShack, err the current RadioShack, is just a skeleton of its old self. It is so bad, the company spent millions on a failed ad campaign to escape its reputation and rebrand as “The Shack.” Not impressed. Today’s Radioshacks are great if you’re looking for a hard to find watch battery or a new cell phone. If you’re looking for anything else, forget it, it’s horribly overpriced. (RadioShack is one of the few in the low-margin business of electronics that still pays a commission on sales.) Beyond cell phones, RadioShack doesn’t have much. And the problem is, there isn’t much growth left in cell phones. Say Hello to Best Buy Mobile Where RadioShack has only one real product, cell phones, Best Buy is a pure electronics category killer. But recently, it decided to be a RadioShack killer. BestBuy stores are now popping up all over the United States. At year end 2008, there were only 13. By first quarter 2010 there were 77, and BestBuy plans to add 75 in the next year. All told, they’re shooting for 100 Best Buy Mobile stores. How is that for growth? And where is that growth coming from? You guessed it, RadioShack. One of the United States’ first retailers will soon go under. The question is, do you sell it short, or do you buy it’s successor?
About Jordan Jordan is the web master of www.investingblog.org, a site dedicated to skillful investing, news and recent trends. You can read the original article here.
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