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RadioShack Quarter Was Bad, but ‘Problem Began 30 Years Ago’
- mindcrime 14y agoTo their credit, they've made a couple of interesting moves lately... Radio Shack stores now stock Arduino kit, for example. And they seem to be giving at least a little bit of attention to re-embracing the DIY community. I'm not sure that that's enough though. I do think that embracing electronics hobbyists and makers/hackers, DIY'ers would be a good step. Yes, you're still competing against Amazon.com and online retail in general, but my thesis is that hobbyists, working on a project, who need a part "right now" would be willing to drive to a nearby Radio Shack, and pay a few dollars extra, so they can get their $GIZMO working. More discrete components, more microcontrollers, more robotics parts, more tools, etc., is my suggestion for RS. Yes, it's niche, but isn't most local retail going to be forced to go niche?
- velodrome 14y agoThe electronic section keeps getting smaller and their cell phone section keeps on growing. They are kind of losing their differentiation from competitors. I personally think they got on the arduino a bit late. If they were smart they should stock raspberry pis.
- mindcrime 14y agoI personally think they got on the arduino a bit late. If they were smart they should stock raspberry pis. Could be. But Arduino is still pretty popular. Heck, RPi isn't even shipping in mass consumption quantities yet. I definitely would like to see RS carry Raspberry Pi though, no disagreement there! If they were smart and were to play their cards well, I think they could still become a strong (if smaller) company by getting back to their roots and embracing DIY / hackers / makers. Imagine if you could buy a Makerbot, or a RepRap kit at Radio Shack... or even just all (or most) of the parts needed to build something like that.