Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

RadioShack may be preparing for bankruptcy
CNN Money ^ | 14 Jan 2015 | By Katie Lobosco and Chris Isidore

Posted on 01/15/2015 6:29:03 AM PST by Red Badger

Struggling to raise enough cash and credit to stay alive, RadioShack is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy as soon as next month.

The filing could come the first week of February, according to the Wall Street Journal. RadioShack declined to comment for this story.

The company had a deadline of Jan. 15 to come up with $100 million in combined cash and available credit, or its major creditors can pull the plug on the long-term financing it needs to survive. RadioShack only had $63 million available heading into the Christmas shopping season.

The struggling electronics retailer has been trying to close 1,100 of its 5,000 stores since March, but it's an expensive undertaking. It only came up with enough cash to close 175 stores through the end of October.

(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: electronics; radioshack; retail
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-102 next last
To: Red Badger

RS has been a zombie for decades. They have no reason to exist any more.


21 posted on 01/15/2015 6:47:39 AM PST by Paine in the Neck (Socialism consumes EVERYTHING)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ontap

Oh Noes!!! Now where am I ever going to find an AM transistor radio in lime green or raspberry?


22 posted on 01/15/2015 6:48:37 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: pepsionice
The Radio Shack of today IS NOT the Radio Shack of yesterday. They DID change their business model, and never found their way back. Here in Connecticut, we have a local store called Cables and Connectors that is basically what Radio Shack used to be. Components, wire, connectors, electronic kits, etc. And they do a staggering business. They have what you are looking for 98% of the time. Radio Shack lost the "do-it-yourself" vision, and managed to lose their customers.
23 posted on 01/15/2015 6:51:17 AM PST by Eric (Don't Blame me...I voted for the Right people.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: pepsionice

It always seemed strange in Radio Shack. If you wanted one connector, the package would have two, and you’d have to pay for two! And there was always something creepy about how they wanted your name and address when you checked out. I always had a feeling there was some strange religious cult behind the whole operation.


24 posted on 01/15/2015 6:51:48 AM PST by duckworth (Perhaps instant karma's going to get you. Perhaps not.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

RS purposefully targeted and destroyed most of the old Mom & Pop electronic stores. Then they stopped offering parts and kits and went to that crappy line of Realistic junk. Bankruptcy couldn’t happen to nicer people. I feel sorry for the employees. But I’m sure the top tier will do nicely out of this.


25 posted on 01/15/2015 6:52:56 AM PST by Seruzawa (All those memories will be lost,in time, like tears in rain.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: duckworth
I always had a feeling there was some strange religious cult behind the whole operation.

You mean educated, DIY people who understand circuits and electricity?

-PJ

26 posted on 01/15/2015 6:55:20 AM PST by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

I can’t remember the last time I went into one and wasn’t the only customer there. The clerks make the Maytag repairman look like a super busy whirling dervish...


27 posted on 01/15/2015 6:56:36 AM PST by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Crap. NOW where am I going to take my Commodore 64 for repairs?


28 posted on 01/15/2015 6:58:29 AM PST by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Texas Eagle

I’ve got one that powers on but no static on video.


29 posted on 01/15/2015 7:01:58 AM PST by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

My first computer was a TRS-80 CoCo. 16K of RAM, cassette tape storage, a 300 baud modem and a Videotex ROM cartridge. Came with a trial subscription to Comp-U-Serve.

Ahh the memories.


30 posted on 01/15/2015 7:02:34 AM PST by AFreeBird
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric

Had to look it up.
Cables and Connectors - Berlin Turnpike in Newington

I’ve relied on RS for the odd part that I needed right away. I probably spent $50/year at RS. They would do much better as a kind of electronic parts hardware store. There is no need for RS to be located in a mall.

If RS closes stores, I will be going to Cables and Connectors for my odd parts. Thanks.


31 posted on 01/15/2015 7:03:05 AM PST by kidd (What we have now is the federal gruberment)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: 4yearlurker
Are there any more 1 Hour Photo Huts left?

Man I hope so, I just found a few undeveloped 35mm rolls I forgot about from 1999.

32 posted on 01/15/2015 7:03:34 AM PST by Minutemen ("It's a Religion of Peace")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
Last time I was in a Radio Shack I actually did find the connector I was looking for. It wasn't exactly right but it worked.
Their hobby shelves are just sad now.
I was especially put off by the whole wall full of cell phone covers.
Really now, an electronics store selling pink cell phone covers!!

33 posted on 01/15/2015 7:03:37 AM PST by BitWielder1 (Corporate Profits are better than Government Waste)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Minutemen
Cleaning out some drawers we actually found two rolls of 35mm that are about 10 years old. Wal-Mart still develops.
34 posted on 01/15/2015 7:06:11 AM PST by 4yearlurker (Some people say that experts agree!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop

The “era” is going on just fine,but without Radio Shack in the form of SparkFun, Adafruit, Make Magazine, Itead Stdudio, and many others. Someone like Hobby Lobby could use the Radio Shack chain to extend a broader hobby and DIY presence to rural areas. Internet shopping and waiting for delivery are no fun in the middle of a project, else Hobby Lobby and Joannes, etc would be sucking wind too.


35 posted on 01/15/2015 7:06:45 AM PST by bigbob (The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly. Abraham Lincoln)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: pepsi_junkie

Most major cities have shops that sell parts at a fraction of the RS price. Resistors, caps and LEDs for a nickel or less, high-intensity LEDs for fifty cents, semiconductors for a couple of bucks. I know of about half a dozen such shops in Toronto, most of which are located near university or college campuses.


36 posted on 01/15/2015 7:07:25 AM PST by Squawk 8888 (Will steal your comments & post them on Twitter)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: pepsi_junkie

Agreed. I & other local DIY geeks & local professionals are fortunate that a local chain has a couple of stores on the interstate corridor carrying a full line of NTE parts, misc cables/connectors, fuses, caps, Arduino/Adafruit components, even so-called ‘3D-printing’ stuff. What they don’t have is available rather quickly without having to go cross-ref & find it myself. They’ve always been a link to licensing for Ham and have classes periodically on robotics, electronics etc where people with similar interests get together and bang ideas off each other and get help/share skills to help get projects done.

Try getting all that from Amazon (/s intended to some).

Yes, I’ve uses Mouser/Amazon & others for ‘builds’, but when you’re needing to repair something critical, the choice is wait a couple days or replace it; not a pleasant decision in many cases. Let alone when you’re repairing for for-hire, telling the customer they have to wait for a couple days for it to get here is a fast way to lose clients in many cases.


37 posted on 01/15/2015 7:12:33 AM PST by logi_cal869 (-cynicus-)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop

The Radio Shack era passed in 1975 or so...


38 posted on 01/15/2015 7:12:46 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Rip it out by the roots.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: bigbob
The “era” is going on just fine,but without Radio Shack in the form of SparkFun, Adafruit, Make Magazine, Itead Stdudio, and many others. Someone like Hobby Lobby could use the Radio Shack chain to extend a broader hobby and DIY presence to rural areas. Internet shopping and waiting for delivery are no fun in the middle of a project, else Hobby Lobby and Joannes, etc would be sucking wind too.

Given advances in 3D printing; RadioShack could once again be a electronics components store — walk in say what you want, have them manufacture on-site... bang!
(Though it might take a while to break even w/ electronic components only; perhaps they could also be the Kinkos of 3D printing.)

39 posted on 01/15/2015 7:13:59 AM PST by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

I’m not surprised. I’ve been in a Radio Shack store about three times in the last 10 years and each time I was the only customer in the store the entire time I was there and the prices were outrageous.


40 posted on 01/15/2015 7:15:53 AM PST by circlecity
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-102 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson