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Radio Shack is a case of terrible management unable to see the writing on the wall and adapt. The idea that Radio Shack can't compete against online electronics

Radio Shack is a case of terrible management unable to see the writing on the wall and adapt. The idea that Radio Shack can't compete against online electronics stores (such as Amazon) is false. They just failed to focus on a market and stick with it (specifically electronic enthusiasts). For example, what if they partnered with Raspberry Pi, and offered a Pi store inside of Radio Shack where you can buy Pi's, accessories, and talk to Pi experts. Copy the Apple store experience for this vertical. According to this post[1], they've sold 10 million Raspberry Pi's. At an average price of $35 each that represents a 350 million dollar market. While not huge, there is certainly opportunity to capture accessories. See cell phone cases as an example. [1] - https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/08/raspberry-pi-10-million-sold/ https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/08/raspberry-pi-10-million-...

flippyhead 10y ago
This! There's a single store I found within 10 miles of where I live that directly sells anything close to this. I'd go a lot more frequently if not for the 30 - 45 minute drive (with traffic). I'm not alone either.
jfim 10y ago
Even assuming they sold every single Raspberry Pi at 100% profit, 350 million across 5000+ stores is 70k USD per store. Even with a lot of accessories sold, that's probably not enough to keep the whole operation afloat.
- nodesocket 10y ago
  Right. So RS needs to focus and reduce their physical presence. Select the best locations that can perform and shut down the rest.
- faitswulff 10y ago
  I took the grandparent post to be one example of how to execute a greater strategy. This would presumably be one way to appeal to electronics enthusiasts, among many.
- brianwawok 10y ago
  And why hire someone highly trained to sell a $35 pi, when someone with no training can sell a $700 iPhone. There is a reason they tried to switch to cellphones.. needed something easy to sell and expensive enough to justify their rent.
  - mark-r 10y ago
    The problem with a strategy like that is it's hard to be better than everybody else who has the same idea. Perhaps their mistake was opening so many stores in the high-rent areas in the first place; it didn't really mesh with their original core market.
ryandrake 10y ago
Selling resistors and breadboards to hobbyists doesn't pay the rent on a physical store with employees. Raspberry Pis can be obtained online for cheap and you only have to wait a few days for shipping.
- flukus 10y ago
  It does, although it probably wouldn't keep all the stores open because the market is limited. The problem was the need for growth.
- cft 10y ago
  Why not stock the highest end developer laptops for example: until recently I had a very hard time finding a Dell XPS 13 in a store, but I was reluctant to order by mail since I wanted to physically see it first and see how the keyboard feels.
  - douche 10y ago
    You might sell one or two of those a month, in the typical areas many of these RadioShack stores are located. If you were lucky...
  - michaelbuckbee 10y ago
    There's a term in retail: "showrooming" - where savvy customers like yourself will try things out in a shop and then order them for cheaper online. This is what tends to happen with higher end items as the online/in-person difference is so great.
    - cft 10y ago
      Believe it or not,I bought it in a Microsoft store, right were I saw it.
- cptskippy 10y ago
  Radioshack could have lived on just fine catering to the enthusiast and hobbyist market but these days it's unacceptable for a publicly traded company to make modest profits. They're expected to make investors wild profits and show quarterly growth, that's just not going to happen in the market Radioshack was in so they tried to pivot out of it and failed horribly. The trouble is that Radioshack tried to pivot from being an enthusiast and hobbyist store into a more general retail electronics store. They are small storefronts in strip malls not suited for carrying large stocks of big ticket items like the Best Buys of the world. Because of this limitation they focused on small consumer electronics, mostly phones, and pit themselves against both big box retailers and the Telephone Carrier who run their own shops in the very same strip malls.
brightball 10y ago
It also doesn't help that the entire differentiating value of the store can be made available in an isle at Walmart.
Semiapies 10y ago
It was like Hastings in that regard. Absolutely no focus, making it underwhelming in any category it served.
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flippyhead 10y ago

This! There's a single store I found within 10 miles of where I live that directly sells anything close to this. I'd go a lot more frequently if not for the 30 - 45 minute drive (with traffic). I'm not alone either.

jfim 10y ago

Even assuming they sold every single Raspberry Pi at 100% profit, 350 million across 5000+ stores is 70k USD per store. Even with a lot of accessories sold, that's probably not enough to keep the whole operation afloat.

nodesocket 10y ago
Right. So RS needs to focus and reduce their physical presence. Select the best locations that can perform and shut down the rest.
faitswulff 10y ago
I took the grandparent post to be one example of how to execute a greater strategy. This would presumably be one way to appeal to electronics enthusiasts, among many.
brianwawok 10y ago
And why hire someone highly trained to sell a $35 pi, when someone with no training can sell a $700 iPhone. There is a reason they tried to switch to cellphones.. needed something easy to sell and expensive enough to justify their rent.
- mark-r 10y ago
  The problem with a strategy like that is it's hard to be better than everybody else who has the same idea. Perhaps their mistake was opening so many stores in the high-rent areas in the first place; it didn't really mesh with their original core market.

ryandrake 10y ago

Selling resistors and breadboards to hobbyists doesn't pay the rent on a physical store with employees. Raspberry Pis can be obtained online for cheap and you only have to wait a few days for shipping.

flukus 10y ago
It does, although it probably wouldn't keep all the stores open because the market is limited. The problem was the need for growth.
cft 10y ago
Why not stock the highest end developer laptops for example: until recently I had a very hard time finding a Dell XPS 13 in a store, but I was reluctant to order by mail since I wanted to physically see it first and see how the keyboard feels.
- douche 10y ago
  You might sell one or two of those a month, in the typical areas many of these RadioShack stores are located. If you were lucky...
- michaelbuckbee 10y ago
  There's a term in retail: "showrooming" - where savvy customers like yourself will try things out in a shop and then order them for cheaper online. This is what tends to happen with higher end items as the online/in-person difference is so great.
  - cft 10y ago
    Believe it or not,I bought it in a Microsoft store, right were I saw it.
cptskippy 10y ago
Radioshack could have lived on just fine catering to the enthusiast and hobbyist market but these days it's unacceptable for a publicly traded company to make modest profits. They're expected to make investors wild profits and show quarterly growth, that's just not going to happen in the market Radioshack was in so they tried to pivot out of it and failed horribly. The trouble is that Radioshack tried to pivot from being an enthusiast and hobbyist store into a more general retail electronics store. They are small storefronts in strip malls not suited for carrying large stocks of big ticket items like the Best Buys of the world. Because of this limitation they focused on small consumer electronics, mostly phones, and pit themselves against both big box retailers and the Telephone Carrier who run their own shops in the very same strip malls.

brightball 10y ago

It also doesn't help that the entire differentiating value of the store can be made available in an isle at Walmart.

Semiapies 10y ago

It was like Hastings in that regard. Absolutely no focus, making it underwhelming in any category it served.

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