How does Radio Shack stay in business

[No Wikipedia Cites]

Hearing a comedian dis da 'shack' by implying no company could pay mall rent by selling analog-to-digital doo-dads and tandy computers and unknown brand cell phones, I would ask --

How do they stay in business?

[DrFidelius]

Batteries.

[gazpacho]

The comic was exaggerating for humorous effect.

They haven't sold tandy computers for years and years. They seem to sell HP, sony, Samsung etc. computers. The same goes for phones they sell normal cell phones.

[HeyHomie]

Originally Posted by DrFidelius

Batteries.

And random electronical doo-dads that are difficult to find anywhere else, such as an adapter so that this cord can plug into that hole.

[RealityChuck]

Yes. Lots of electronic and electrical devices -- things like travel voltage transformers, testing equipment, and much else.

[Rube E. Tewesday]

Since attempts have been made at a serious answer, I think I can toss out this bit from the Onion, "Even CEO can't figure out how RadioShack still in business":

http://www.theonion.com/content/news...figure_out_how

[billfish678]

Originally Posted by Rube E. Tewesday

Since attempts have been made at a serious answer, I think I can toss out this bit from the Onion, "Even CEO can't figure out how RadioShack still in business":

http://www.theonion.com/content/news...figure_out_how

Even after reading that article, I am still not sure whether they were making shit up or not

[Markxxx]

I have to go with specialization. Every single time I've had a "weird" item (like a special battery) I look everywhere then say "OK I'll go to Radio Shack," and there it is. It's never failed me yet. I don't know why I just don't look there in the first place

Radio Shack also serves the "geek" market moreso than Best Buy or other stores, which are for the general public.

Even if it's a bit more expensive or complicated there a niche market and Radio Shack exploits it.

[Sunspace]

Originally Posted by Markxxx

Radio Shack also serves the "geek" market moreso than Best Buy or other stores, which are for the general public.

Learner geeks, maybe. There were plenty of times during projects at electronics school when I wished that we had an all-night Radio Shack handy. But as time went by, we discovered more knowledge and better selection at specialist electronics distributors like Active Components.

[mks57]

Originally Posted by Sunspace

Learner geeks, maybe. There were plenty of times during projects at electronics school when I wished that we had an all-night Radio Shack handy. But as time went by, we discovered more knowledge and better selection at specialist electronics distributors like Active Components.

When you need a widget right now, Radio Shack may be your only option. They have been reducing the shelf space dedicated to parts, at least around here.

[control-z]

They're happy to sell you $8 audio cables. Which are worth about $1, but where else are you gonna buy one?

[gazpacho]

Originally Posted by control-z

They're happy to sell you $8 audio cables. Which are worth about $1, but where else are you gonna buy one?

Best Buy where they will charge $12 for the same cable.

[garygnu]

Originally Posted by control-z

They're happy to sell you $8 audio cables. Which are worth about $1, but where else are you gonna buy one?

You could get them at Best Buy for $35.

[control-z]

Well around here Radio Shacks are in small towns whereas Best Buys will only be found ~40 miles away in a city. So, short of mail order, Radio Shark is about the only place to quickly obtain cables and adapters and things of that sort.

[muldoonthief]

Originally Posted by gazpacho

Best Buy where they will charge $12 for the same cable.

Originally Posted by garygnu

You could get them at Best Buy for $35.

Best simulpost this week.

I went into Radio shack a few days after Christmas to get a video A/B switch for the kids' new Wii. I got the last one of their second shipment since Christmas. All their other cables, switches, etc. were pretty much gone too. So their "Black Friday" appears to be the few days after Christmas when everyone is trying to hook up their new toys.

[Acsenray]

Originally Posted by Rube E. Tewesday

Since attempts have been made at a serious answer, I think I can toss out this bit from the Onion, "Even CEO can't figure out how RadioShack still in business":

http://www.theonion.com/content/news...figure_out_how

At the bottom of that article, I found a link to This American Life Completes Documentation Of Liberal, Upper-Middle-Class Existence. Absolutely brilliant!

[brazil84]

Originally Posted by sassyfras

Hearing a comedian dis da 'shack' by implying no company could pay mall rent by selling analog-to-digital doo-dads and tandy computers and unknown brand cell phones, I would ask --

How do they stay in business?

For what it may be worth, I shop at Radio Shack regularly. If I need some smallish electronic doo-dad, like a telephone, an answering machine, or whatever, it's easier to go to Radio Shack (a 5 or 10 minute drive) than some big electronics store or office supply store (a 20 or 25 minute drive) which has 20 different models for sale. It's just not worth the trouble to compare 20 different phones and drive an extra half hour.

[UncleBeer]

Originally Posted by muldoonthief

Best simulpost this week.

Too bad gazpacho & garygnu didn't post in alphabetical order.

[Chronos]

They have been reducing the shelf space dedicated to parts, at least around here.

Tell me about it... When I was a kid, the store was pretty much wall-to-wall shelves of resistors, LEDs, and other such components, with a handful of radio controlled toys tucked into one corner. Last time I was in a Radio Shack (to buy such components, naturally), they had one floor unit about the size of a large filing cabinet for components, with the rest of the store devoted to assorted geegaws. And I wasn't able to find as much variety of LEDs as I needed, so I ended up having to order a bunch of them online.

[butler1850]

Based on the stock price of the few shares I had left over from my time as a store manager, they aren't doing a very good job of it. (I have 12 shares, once worth $60 or so per share, they are at $11.25 as of 3:30PM today. It's rebounded a bit since Mid Nov.

My particular store made money (back in the early 90s) on all of the "back wall" items. Connectors, wire, switches, etc. I am a ham radio operator, and studied EE in college, so had many folks that would travel past their nearest store to come see me to get the correct information on what they needed to buy to connect their latest project. Once in a while, I'd review someones design, and make some suggestions. That brought me lots of business for the small stuff, and they remembered me when they needed something more expensive as well.

The "proper mall" stores make much of their money from accessories, but they really make their money from the floor displays during the holidays. Jan-October is paid for by Nov-Dec sales. I ran a store in a strip mall, with fairly minimal overhead.

Of course, their not paying me hourly for the 70-80hr weeks (min 6 days @ 12 hrs each), and a reduced commission as manager didn't hurt their bottom line either.

[JKilez]

They supply the Fry's fix for those who do not have access. Sort of like methadone, Radio Shack takes away the edge, but not the urge.

[Squink]

Originally Posted by JKilez

They supply the Fry's fix for those who do not have access.

Yeah, I'm thrilled to have a place I can drive to, just across town, where they sell D-sub crimping tools, but NOT D-sub pins.



That was an utter waste of an hour today!

[susan]

RS leaves me alone and lets me shop, yet if I have a question, the employees either know the answer or tell me they don't. At BB and its ilk, the noise is deafening, I can't get rid of the "help," and when I have a question, the employees don't know or care, or they make up an answer.

[Martini Enfield]

Originally Posted by Chronos

Tell me about it... When I was a kid, the store was pretty much wall-to-wall shelves of resistors, LEDs, and other such components, with a handful of radio controlled toys tucked into one corner. Last time I was in a Radio Shack (to buy such components, naturally), they had one floor unit about the size of a large filing cabinet for components, with the rest of the store devoted to assorted geegaws. And I wasn't able to find as much variety of LEDs as I needed, so I ended up having to order a bunch of them online.

Speaking as someone who used to work in an Australian electronics store very much like RadioShack, I can tell you that Components (or "Fiddly Shit", as we used to call it) are more trouble than they're worth from a sales point of view.

They required Specialist Knowledge (which none of us had), they were Small And Fiddly (and subsequently impossible to find the right one of because they always got mixed up), and because they were only identified by product codes, if people didn't write them down on the pads we provided (and no-one ever wrote the product codes down), we then had to go fossicking through the little plastic trays and drawers with the parts in them until we found the code. Which could take ages, unless it was a really commonly sold item for which we had memorised the product codes and prices (like RF Antenna- F Type converters or 3.5mm-6.5mm plug converters).

All to sell 35c of resistors. And in the meantime we'd probably lose a TV sale or a Printer Cartridge sale or something similar because we were busy trying to help Oldfart McSpecialist-Hobby look for an 8Ω wire-round resistor that would fit his 1958 vintage Radiation King radio.

It just wasn't worth the hassle, basically.

[pkbites]

The Op asks a good question.

Radio Shack has pissed me off something fierce over the years. So much so that if something I need can be found at a different store, even if it's further away and more expensive, I'll go there instead of RS!

I do a lot of little audio/video projects that I need supplies that radio Shack would come in handy. But because of their business practices (and, usually, higher prices) I avoid them.

They've gotten worse, too:
It used to be that employees were genuine geeks, who could actually help with advice for projects I was working on. In the last couple of years I've found that is not the case! I don't need a 19 year old punk trying to hard sell me a cell phone when I came in for some BNC conversion connectors.

The OP asks a good question. One which I think eventually will have the same answer that the last buggy whip company got: They can't. Goodbye!!!!

[Really Not All That Bright]

I get the impression a little bit more of the store has been eaten by cell phone displays every time I pass one.

[astro]

I'm and ex Radio Shack Manager from 81-86.

The profit margins on the "parts and pieces" are extremely good and enough to justify their continued existence as SKUs as long as they move at some point. I'd hate to tell you how much profit there was in a TV antenna sale with all the wires connectors and other trimmings

Just as a general and probably biased observation RS does seem to be winding down in terms of "presence" as a retailer, and may have to consolidate stores in some markets in the future. The store model back in the day was interesting as some managers would make 6 figure incomes (and bear in mind this was the 70's & 80's) if they had decent locations. In the early 80's Radio Shack was the shit re cutting edge computers, telephones and consumer electronics. We had people lining up to get Model 100s etc. and there several unique items only we sold.

Store managers were directly responsible (and were paid from) net profits. This was huge if you ran a tight ship and had good foot traffic. There were some mangers making $ 200,000 + per year, averages were obviously quite a bit less, but you could make a decent middle class income from an average strip store. Sales people were paid on commission and a good part timer could make a very decent income.

All this changed in the mid-eighties. The pay plan changed and corporate focus seemed to be on sourcing out the cheapest, clunkiest crap they could sell. RS didn't carry major brand Sony/JVC etc. Walkman style units until the early-mid 90's because there wasn't enough profit in them. We had third tier Chinese junk that people would only buy if naive or desperate.

I left RS in 86 in that the 70-80 + retail hours a week weren't going to work with my marriage at the time. I stop in occasionally for "stuff" but I don't know what they're doing these days. They seemed to have a steady stream of "pay as you go" cell users depositing cash for cell time when I was last there.

[Stan Doubt]

'Tis a bloody shame. Because RS should really be considered part of that Greatest Generation. Anybody who uses email, let alone anybody who considers themselves a techie, owes this company a hell of a lot of respect. The United States would never have assumed a leadership role in developing the marvelous technologies of our age had its young pioneers not been able to shop at Radio Shack.

Right now, I need a few cables and small electronic parts. I know they have the easy to find stuff at Radio Shack at the mall by my work, but they kind of rip you off on the price of individual items compared to an online retailer like buyextras.com.

And since it is in a mall, the help is pretty much schooled to sell cell phone plans, run-of-the-mill cabling and crappy electronics. They can be generally surly/aloof about the fact that they don't have an IC or resistor that you need, if they even know what it is. So I wait until I need a bunch of stuff and order it online all at once to save shipping, then the process starts over again.

It's a bit of a paradox. I'm glad that they're still in business because they are pretty much the only game in town if you need something "today", but I recognize that by failing to support them by buying my other components from them I am also contributing to the not-so slow death of the well stocked local electronics store. The other thing I do is stock up on things I don't need, because I know I can't just run down to RS to pick it up. So I buy 10 for 3.99 online to save from having to buy 1 for 1.99 next time at RS. Never mind the fact that RS has maintained the same exact spec and part number and stocked it for like 39 years down the street just in case I needed one. <Jerry Seinfeld> The next time I need one, I'm buying TEN online, from some operation that works directly with the Chinese. I interpret this as saving two bucks.</Jerry Seinfeld>

I'm sure I wind up losing out in terms of wasted time and frustration by buying online, but Radio Shack doesn't really stock the inventory of things I need. And I totally don't blame them for it, because people like me don't buy stuff there anymore. People buy cell phone accessories and flash card readers and shitty DVD players, so that's what they sell.

[Musicat]

Where I live, it's the only place for 50 miles where I can buy a chassis-mount audio socket of almost any kind. If I need quantity and I'm not in a hurry, I'll order thru the Internet, but sometimes RS is just the ticket. And their entire component inventory would fit in my clothes closet.

But I just can't believe how ridiculously high their prices are for such items as WiFi adapters, CD/DVD blanks, radios and phones. Wal-Mart & Target beat them in every one of those categories and have a greater selection besides.

[DrFidelius]

Martini Enfield:

Off-topic, but I would like to thank you for using the marvelous term 'fossicking' in your reply. It is a pity that few persons have that in their vocabulary.

[ralph124c]

I too, am puzzled. RS used to stock all of those electronic parts-when i was a HS kid, i built an audio amplifier from parts obtained at RS. Face it, that hobby is long dead-it makes no sense to make your own stuff today. Also, they used to sell their own brand name stuff-the "Realistic" audio line was pretty good (it was the same as marantz underneath). but they seem to sell low-end brands today, and a lot of it is junk. One good thing-they stock all of the oddball watch batteries. But, I don't see how they can stay in business much longer.
Oh-forget using their video cables-they are absolute crap 9low quality and high attenuation (lousy connectors)!

[corkboard]

I only go into RS on the rare occasion that I need a specific type of connector, or some inexpensive speaker cable in bulk, and those nice helpful geeks are always able to deliver. That's the (ok, one) difference between RS and BB- the BB employees are morons, generally, only interested in upselling you from a splitter to a 56" plasma TV. I think RS fills a limited but critical niche.

[Musicat]

Originally Posted by ralph124c

Oh-forget using their video cables-they are absolute crap 9low quality and high attenuation (lousy connectors)!

Psst...try Monoprice.com. Incredible prices, good selection, quick shipping, and so far I haven't found a bad cable in a bunch.

No, I don't work for them or own any stock.

[BJMoose]

Originally Posted by HeyHomie

And random electronical doo-dads that are difficult to find anywhere else, such as an adapter so that this cord can plug into that hole.

Pfffth. A few years back I went to a RS to buy a simple audio adapter; nothing more. After standing around for fifteen minutes being ignored by the two clerks (who were busy trying to sell extended cell phone contracts), I gave up, rehung the item, and walked out. I'm not sure the clerks noticed. . . .

So I'd guess that these days they're making most of their money off of cell phones, a notion supported by a couple of the later posts in this thread.


And their stock of "doo-dads" is nothing like it was thirty years ago. (And was never a match for a local place called Amateur Radio Supply, now deceased, where you could find all manner of specific components [e.g., an 8085 chip for a few bucks].)

[Musicat]

Originally Posted by BJMoose

And their stock of "doo-dads" is nothing like it was thirty years ago. (And was never a match for a local place called Amateur Radio Supply, now deceased, where you could find all manner of specific components [e.g., an 8085 chip for a few bucks].)

Oo..oo..I need me one of those to upgrade my IMSAI 8080.

[Raza]

Originally Posted by Muscat

Psst...try Monoprice.com. Incredible prices, good selection, quick shipping, and so far I haven't found a bad cable in a bunch.

Not trying to hijack further, but seconded. Their prices seem insanely low, but I'm also shocked at the apparent quality of the cables I've received from them.

[Little Nemo]

Radio Shack is the only store that supplies the market between the non-geek, who buys a complete system at Best Buy and just plugs it in, and the geek, who orders a R-155A Class C Input Recycler online. Radio Shack sells to the semi-geek who wants to be able to walk into a store and tell somebody he needs a part that will plug into this kind of DVR so he can connect it to his stereo speakers. It's a store for somebody who wants to do some of his own electronic work but is not a professional. It's the Home Depot of electronics.

[Chronos]

They required Specialist Knowledge (which none of us had), they were Small And Fiddly (and subsequently impossible to find the right one of because they always got mixed up), and because they were only identified by product codes, if people didn't write them down on the pads we provided (and no-one ever wrote the product codes down), we then had to go fossicking through the little plastic trays and drawers with the parts in them until we found the code. Which could take ages, unless it was a really commonly sold item for which we had memorised the product codes and prices (like RF Antenna- F Type converters or 3.5mm-6.5mm plug converters).

Except in my case, i couldn't have asked for specific part numbers. My specifications going in were "Blue LEDs in three noticeably different brightnesses, somewhere in the general vicinity of 1 candela, and a red LED of approximately the same brightness as the brightest blue one, plus batteries and resistors to match whatever the specs for those LEDs turn out to be". Which meant that even allowing that some of the LEDs were ordered online, I still had to stand around in the corner of the store for about half an hour with a pencil and paper to work out the resistors (I'm a little out of practice on that). The "not being bothered by store staff" someone mentioned is a good point: At one point, the cashier asked if I needed any help, since it was taking so long, and I said no, I was just calculating the resisters, and he left me alone.

[Martini Enfield]

Originally Posted by DrFidelius

Martini Enfield:

Off-topic, but I would like to thank you for using the marvelous term 'fossicking' in your reply. It is a pity that few persons have that in their vocabulary.

Thanks! It's a very useful word and one that doesn't get nearly enough airtime IMHO.

Originally Posted by Chronos

Except in my case, i couldn't have asked for specific part numbers. My specifications going in were "Blue LEDs in three noticeably different brightnesses, somewhere in the general vicinity of 1 candela, and a red LED of approximately the same brightness as the brightest blue one, plus batteries and resistors to match whatever the specs for those LEDs turn out to be". Which meant that even allowing that some of the LEDs were ordered online, I still had to stand around in the corner of the store for about half an hour with a pencil and paper to work out the resistors (I'm a little out of practice on that).

In our store, we had a set up display of LEDs (that were illuminated) along with their respective part numbers underneath them. And almost none of the staff could tell you what a "Candela" was; they'd most likely be saying "Point out the one you want on the display".

The thing is, you obviously know what you're doing. Most of our customers after that sort of thing would say "I want an LED that's not too bright, but still bright enough to clearly see in daylight, and I want the resistors and batteries to go with it, and a switch."

We even had signs up saying "This section is entirely self-service" and "Staff are unable to assist with Component Part enquiries", along with "PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THE PRODUCT CODE OR WE CANNOT PROCESS THE SALE", and yet no-one paid the slightest bit of attention to it.

[Chronos]

In our store, we had a set up display of LEDs (that were illuminated) along with their respective part numbers underneath them. And almost none of the staff could tell you what a "Candela" was; they'd most likely be saying "Point out the one you want on the display".

OK, I could have worked with that. I trust that the display also included somewhere in the fine print the technical specs (voltage and maximum current) for those LEDs?

[Martini Enfield]

Originally Posted by Chronos

OK, I could have worked with that. I trust that the display also included somewhere in the fine print the technical specs (voltage and maximum current) for those LEDs?

There was a laminated chart next to it with that information on it, IIRC. We didn't sell many LEDs and none of us really knew much about them so we wanted to make it as easy as possible for everyone.

[runcible spoon]

Since we seem to have bunch of fiddly-shit experts in the thread - refer me to some good sources? I totally missed the boat on Radio Shack having good stuff. For instance, say I need some solenoids? I ended up getting some magnet wire there to make my own, but it'd be much easier if I could just buy the damn things. Any good websites I should be checking out instead?

[Full Metal Lotus]

When I was a youngster, just after the last ice age , I worked at several Radio Shacks.

I was a keener, and RS had a very large parts/fiddly bits inventory, and I had actually memorized spec sheets for enough transistors so that I was able to do pretty good substitutions in my head. I was even fairly familiar with vacuum tube switch outs.

I was a terrible sales man, however. And my sense of "Merchandising" was a little twisted. I once sketched out a "Easter SALE!"window display, which featured a stuffed toy bunny (Which had a radio in its belly) crucified on a cross made of Radio Shack boxes, with the slogan "Jesus died for this sale" (I mean no offense to any one, by this, and apologise now for any taken).

Did you know that Tandy Inc. had an entirerly separate division? They maunfactured and sold leather kits, punches, stains and such. Mainly run through mail order, they had a few retail stores as well. They might even still be in operaion.

By the way, one thing I have become as I have aged is a "Oldfart McSpecialist-Hobby ", and I thought your post was hilarious, Martini!

[Martini Enfield]

Originally Posted by Full Metal Lotus

By the way, one thing I have become as I have aged is a "Oldfart McSpecialist-Hobby ", and I thought your post was hilarious, Martini!

Thanks! I've been away from the store long enough now to be able to laugh about a lot of the things that happened there, and it's even better if other people can be amused by them too.

[butler1850]

Originally Posted by Full Metal Lotus

Did you know that Tandy Inc. had an entirerly separate division? They maunfactured and sold leather kits, punches, stains and such. Mainly run through mail order, they had a few retail stores as well. They might even still be in operaion.

They still are in operation, but I don't think still part of the RadioShack corporation.

The company actually started as a leather company, and bought into RadioShack in the 60s.

The corporate site has a good history of the company. They also owned a furniture company, and attempted to compete on the same level as Circuit City & Best Buy with large retail stores as well, but they didn't work out.

[zwede]

"Radio shack. You've got questions, we've got blank stares".

[Chronos]

The company actually started as a leather company, and bought into RadioShack in the 60s.

That sounds sort of like the Ball corporation, which started off making canning supplies (and still does), but also made the optics for the Hubble Space Telescope.

[KneadToKnow]

Originally Posted by gazpacho

They haven't sold tandy computers for years and years.

My first PC was a Tandy-branded PC clone. 1993: 110 MB hard drive, 1 MB RAM, 14" SVGA monitor. Just about $1000. Two weeks later, I saw an ad for a laptop with almost identical specs. Well, the hard drive was bigger. For the same price. Oy.

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by Full Metal Lotus

Did you know that Tandy Inc. had an entirerly separate division? They maunfactured and sold leather kits, punches, stains and such. Mainly run through mail order, they had a few retail stores as well. They might even still be in operation.

Yup...I used to do a little bit of leatherworking, and was on the Tandy Leather catalog mailing list for many years.

I, too, rather doubt that they're making much money off of the electronics hobbyist anymore. As evidenced here, I imagine a lot of that market has migrated to online sites.

I figure that they're making what money they *are* making off of:
- Electronics during the holidays (including those adaptors and such sold in the days after Christmas)
- Cell phones

At least around here, a fair number of RSs have closed. There used to be three within about 10 minutes of my house; they're all gone.

Now I'm remembering when I was in college, and my girlfriend at that time was an assistant manager at a RS. I was visiting her in the store one night, and referred to their mainline personal computer (the TRS-80) as a "Trash-80". I thought she was gonna kill me.

[ralph124c]

Yeah, RS is a business whose time has gone-sorta like WOOLWORTHS-their markets have disappeared. These is nothing they sell, that cannot be gotten from other sources, and there is not enough hobbyist business left to keep them afloat. years back, I did buy a TV antenna from them (when we ditched cable). So sad, but thats showbiz.