Posted on 02/03/2015 2:27:49 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Its a day of wild stories in the tech sector, with Amazon (AMZN) reportedly looking to open a huge chain of stores and Google (GOOGL) said to want to compete with Uber in the ride sharing market.
Neither blockbuster story has been confirmed. Amazon isnt commenting on the report that it might want to take over stores from near-bankrupt RadioShack. And Google is indirectly denying the report it would take on Uber, a company it has backed via its venture capital unit.
But would either move make sense? Both are certainly debatable and full details obviously are not available. Theres a strong case to be made that Amazon should stay away from opening physical stores (Sprint's reported interest in the stores makes much more sense.) And Google probably has enough on its agenda right now, both in its business and with regulatory issues, without trying to bust the taxi business....
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
This rumor would pretty much stop all shopping at Radio Shack. Is that the purpose, drive down RS values even more?
I’d never count Amazon out on anything they try. They’d have the best research about what sells in any given area and could tailor stores to meet community preferences. Stores could also be an option for delivery (much like the old Sears catalog stores) and returns.
There isn’t any shopping at RS, they have no value left. They’ve announced it’s over, they’re selling sites to companies than want them and shuttering the rest.
remember my prediction?
Yep.
What about Staples & Office Depot talking about a merger...I don’t see that working too well either.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/staples-office-depot-in-advanced-talks-to-merge/ar-AA8V2Lh
“There isnt any shopping at RS, “
They morphed into just a cell phone store. I’d go in looking for capacitors and resistors and switches for a project, and come away empty-handed. It closed a month ago in Macedonia, and no one misses it! Man! When I was a punk kid, I could buy very good guitar amp speakers from them, and some of the Realistic audio stuff was pretty good too. Olsen’s gone! Radio Crack, gone! End of an era!
I agree. We have a RS store within a mile of my house.
:’) You? Made a prediction? Oh, pshaw. ;’) I don’t want to see RadioShack go, and if anyone can operate a business for decades on end without once turning a profit, it’s Amazon, but that acquisition would appear to be a little like Netflix buying the Blockbuster chain. :’)
Didn’t OfficeMax and OfficeDepot merge? I don’t want Staples to vanish into that morass.
Radio Shack: Amazon and Sprint will buy their locations.
OM & OD did merge. Throw Staples into that and kiss all 3 goodbye. That’s not good.
I would never count Amazon out either. No doubt they would get good at fine tuning local stores.
The problem with retail office supply chains is one consequence of the success of the digital transformation of the workplace and society in general. IOW, a brick and mortar presence is probably needed for mobile phone/data plan retailing, but office supplies, like capacitors, resistors, etc, are best shopped online.
Good points. I just don’t see a Staples/OMOD merger working out.
That is one seriously nuanced headline.
I’m with you on the quality of older RS stuff.
I still have a Realistic stereo amplifier/receiver that I purchased in 1977. It is rated at 35 watts per channel, but in reality is far more powerful than a much newer Sony that is rated at 75 per. Everything on it still functions.
I also have a pair of Minimus 7 speakers from 1981 that over the years have served in 3 Jeeps, a Pontiac, a Saab 99, a Ford pickup, a dorm room, two garages and one living room (as rear speakers on the first surround sound system I set up). I did a tweeter/crossover upgrade on them about 10 years ago, and they sound almost as good as the day they were new.
They made some bullet-proof sound equipment back in the day.
They didn't know it at the time but their troubles were only just beginning!
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