Posted on 09/10/2014 1:54:31 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Thoubled electronics retailer RadioShack Corp's shares have lost nearly a third of their value since brokerage Wedbush Securities said on Tuesday the company could file for bankruptcy soon, making the stock worthless by the end of this year.
The stock fell as much as 20 percent to 76 cents on Wednesday, adding to a 23 percent plunge on Tuesday.
"Our price target reflects our expectation that creditors will force a reorganization and wipe out RadioShack's equity," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote in a note.
Pachter, rated four stars out of five by StarMine for the accuracy of his calls on RadioShack, is the second top rated analyst to cut the stock's price target to $0 this year.
RadioShack's stores, which have been around for more than 90 years, were once the go-to shops for budding innovators and engineers for products that ranged from vacuum tube speakers to the first mass-produced PC, the TRS-80.
But the retailer has not done enough to transform itself into a destination for mobile phone buyers, losing out to rivals such Amazon.com Inc and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcall.com ...
Heathkit was the best. They had kits that were often ahead of what you could buy assembled in the stores.
My Senior Project in college was disassembly of the VIC 20 OS microcode. :)
One of the problems is that the young kids don’t have hobbies anymore. It is all about having an I-Phone shoved in your ear or continuous texting and such. They simply are not interested in anything like electronics anymore. On the other hand since RadioShack got away from selling kits and such back in the 80’s then they may also be partly responsible for making it harder for kids to get into the electronics hobby.
I think RS originally started as Tandy Leatherworks. They had pieces of leather and all these punches and fittings for them.
But that’s ALMOST before my time!
;-)
I cut my teeth writing assembly for the MOS 6502, but using a Rockwell AIM-65 development system.
I bought an FM radio at the Lafayette in Yonkers, so I could listen to a classical station. So many things in that store, so little money in my pocket.
their area for project electronics has continually shrunk and has less and less value in it.
i went into the closest one to me that hadn’t closed. the workers, two black gals, had their urban-ethnic music on very loud. cheap rc toys, mobile phones are the primary draw. looking for a certain basic switch i needed to replace, i discovered hey don’t have it. bought it online.
in short, radio shack has ceased to be radio shack.
Radio Shack’s Supertape cassette tapes were the best - 40 years later most of them still play well. They really have not had a reason to exist since the advent of the internet though - there’s nothing at RS that I can’t get cheaper elsewhere.
Played around with a bit of that essential programming stuff too - assembly language or whatever it was called - got a dot to move from one side of the screen to the other - WOW.....
The internet made SWL obsolete.
Obsolete?...obsolete!!! nobody told me, I'll go now.
;)
While of course some of this is due to mindless ninnies, I can tell you why I and other hard-headed conservatives (like my father) go there when possible: OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Need to return something? No problem!
Need to return something a bit beyond the return period due to an actual problem with the product? No problem!
Need to exchange something WAY beyond warranty period because of a blatant defect that only showed up a couple of days ago? No problem!
Need to talk to an expert? Well, you have to make an appointment, but... No problem!
Want someone to teach you how to fully use the powerful product you bought? No problem!
Want to shop in a store that is clean and orderly? (Well, except for the tats and piercings some of the staff have...) No problem!
Why other retailers can't learn from the Apple Store is a sure sign just how egotistically and mentally bankrupt many of our MBAs are.
Pretty sad, some of the sta-xxxx stereos were some of the best of their era. I had a Sta-350 laboratory standard. Incredible sound and efficient 50 watts drove a room of speakers. I’m still running some Op-9 speakers (5 way) from 1972. These are great looking speakers even after all these years. I worked there in the late 70’s. It was hard to convince customers the stereos were competitive. We mostly sold cb’s. Kitter’s were big then, even during the chip era. There was some great books on chips and breadboard experimentation. No one wants to be a electronic hobbyist now. I wonder even if there are any audiophiles left in this era.
Yep - last time I went was to get an Ethernet to USB dongle when a NIC went bad and I didn't want to have to open my box up to replace the NIC.
First thing you want to learn is to avoid "cold" solder joints and to make your wire runs very neat so they'd always be easy to trace. Seems like it was in the 60's that a few printed circuits started ending up in the kits...but it didn't kill all the fun.
They are stealing my world from me a piece at a time. Every time I turn around another chunk of it is missing.
Vast majority of kids today only know the On button, remote control, mouse and touch screen, and care nothing about what’s inside the case.
And, they’ve no patience to break open the bits and pieces and learn, being accustomed to and expecting instant feedback and gratification.
Maybe it’s too mysterious or overwhelming now, like cars.
Sad.
Last time I went to the local Radio Shack I needed some solder to fix some mic cables.
They had NONE. In the entire store not a single bit of solder... I've never went back since.
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