The exterior of a typical free-standing RadioShack store.

The exterior of a RadioShack store in a shopping mall.

RadioShack Corporation (formerly Tandy Corporation) (NYSE: RSH) runs a chain of electronics retail stores in the United States, as well as parts of North America, Europe, Central America, South America and Africa. As of 2003, it has more than 6,000 stores in the USA and reported net sales and operating revenues of $2.24 billion. RadioShack briefly reopened stores in Canada after losing its former subsidiary InterTAN (independent since 1986) to a purchase by Circuit City in 2004. However, in December 2006, RadioShack Canada announced it would be closing its nine corporate stores to focus on strengthening its core business in the US. The head office of RadioShack is located in Fort Worth, Texas. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), nicknamed the Big Board, is a New York City-based stock exchange. ... Nickname: Motto: Where the West Begins Location of Fort Worth in Tarrant County, Texas Coordinates: , Country State Counties Tarrant, Denton Government  - Mayor Michael J. Moncrief Area  - City 298. ... Drawing of a self-service store. ... This article is about the engineering discipline. ... For the tax agency in Ireland of the same name, see Revenue Commissioners. ... This article is about work. ... Look up slogan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1376, 697 KB) Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): RadioShack Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1376, 697 KB) Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): RadioShack Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... ImageMetadata File history File links Radioshackstore. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Radioshackstore. ... For the traditional meaning of the word mall, see pedestrian street or promenade. ... Tandy Corporation is the former name of the parent company of RadioShack Corporation, a Fort Worth, Texas-based company best known for its RadioShack electronics stores. ... The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), nicknamed the Big Board, is a New York City-based stock exchange. ... For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January events January 1 Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... InterTANistan is a Canadian consumer electronics retailer that operates stores under the banners The Source by Circuit City, Battery Plus, G-Wiz, THS Studio and UpClose. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Circuit City Stores Inc, as of May 19, 2004. ... Circuit City (NYSE: CC) is a dealer and retailer in brand-name consumer electronics, personal computers, and entertainment software. ... Nickname: Motto: Where the West Begins Location of Fort Worth in Tarrant County, Texas Coordinates: , Country State Counties Tarrant, Denton Government  - Mayor Michael J. Moncrief Area  - City 298. ...

RadioShack's current proprietary brands include Presidian (audio and video equipment), Accurian (audio equipment and video equipment), Optimus (formerly PA/DJ equipment, now digital imaging products), Gigaware (personal computer accessories), VoiceStar (wireless phone accessories, including leather cases, holsters and hands-free headsets), MyMusix (MP3 players), Kronus (tools) and Enercell (batteries and power accessories). Discontinued brands include Realistic (sound equipment), Micronta ("scientific" and educational equipment) and Archer (wiring and antennas). RadioShack is also famous for sponsoring the Samsung/RadioShack 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Enercell is a battery brand sold by RadioShack retail stores. ... The Samsung/Radio Shack 500 is a NASCAR Nextel Cup stock car race held at the Texas Motor Speedway in Justin, Texas. ... Jeff Burton (99), Elliott Sadler (38), Ricky Rudd (21), Dale Jarrett (88), Sterling Marlin (40), Jimmie Johnson (48), and Casey Mears (41) practice for the 2004 Daytona 500 The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States. ... The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States. ... Texas Motor Speedway is a superspeedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas -- the portion located in Denton County, Texas. ...

History

The first 40 years

The company was started as Radio Shack in 1921 in Boston, Massachusetts, by two brothers, Theodore and Milton Deutschmann, who wanted to provide equipment for the cutting-edge field of amateur, or ham, radio. Theodore and Milton Deutschmann opened a one-store retail and mail-order operation in the heart of downtown Boston. They chose the name "Radio Shack," which was a term for the small, wooden structure that housed a ship's radio equipment. The Deutschmanns thought the name was appropriate for a store that would supply the needs of radio officers aboard ships, as well as "ham" radio operators. Boston redirects here. ... Amateur radio station with modern solid-state transceiver featuring LCD and DSP capabilities Amateur radio, often called ham radio, is both a hobby and a service that uses various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs for public service, recreation and self-training. ...

The company issued its first catalog in the early 1940s and then entered the high-fidelity music market. In 1954, Radio Shack began selling its own private-label products under the brand name Realist, but was subsequently sued and consequently changed the brand name to Realistic. After expanding to nine stores plus an extensive mail-order business, the company fell on hard times in the 1960s. Radio Shack was essentially bankrupt, but Charles Tandy saw the potential of Radio Shack and retail consumer electronics and bought the company for $300,000.^[1] This article is about audiophile sound systems. ...

Tandy Corporation

Main article: Tandy Corporation

Radio Shack's old logo, used from 1974 to 1995.

In 1963, Radio Shack was purchased by the Tandy Corporation, which was originally a leather goods corporation, and renamed Tandy Radio Shack & leather. Tandy eventually divested itself of its non-electronic product lines. Tandy Corporation is the former name of the parent company of RadioShack Corporation, a Fort Worth, Texas-based company best known for its RadioShack electronics stores. ... old radio shack logo from: http://www. ... old radio shack logo from: http://www. ... For other uses, see Leather (disambiguation). ...

Tandy (through InterTAN) also operated a chain similar to RadioShack in the UK under the "Tandy" name from the 1970s until the late 1990s. The stores were sold to Carphone Warehouse in 1999, and over the next few years were converted to that format, or sold off. InterTANistan is a Canadian consumer electronics retailer that operates stores under the banners The Source by Circuit City, Battery Plus, G-Wiz, THS Studio and UpClose. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Circuit City Stores Inc, as of May 19, 2004. ... Logo Main office, in Acton, West London The Carphone Warehouse is (as of 2004) Europes largest mobile phone retailer, with over 1,300 stores across Europe. ...

Tandy entered the Australian market in 1973. In 2001 Woolworths Limited acquired the Australian operations and merged them with their Dick Smith Electronics business. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

During the 1960s and 1970s, Radio Shack marketed its free battery card; a wallet-sized cardboard card, free, which entitled the bearer to free batteries when presented at one of their stores. The bearer was limited to one a month, although many customers would frequent several stores with several cards every month. These cards also served as generic business cards for the salespeople in the 1980s; the "battery club" card was still used until the company-wide changes in the early 1990s.

In 1978, three years after the famous MITS Altair, Radio Shack introduced the TRS-80, one of the first mass-produced personal computers that became a big hit. This was followed by the TRS-80 Color Computer designed to attach to a television for use as a monitor. In the late 1980s, Radio Shack made the transition from its proprietary 8-bit computers to its proprietary IBM-PC-compatible Tandy computers; however, shrinking margins and a lack of economies of scale led Radio Shack to exit the computer-manufacturing market by the mid-1990s. Altair 8800 The MITS Altair 8800 was a microcomputer design from 1975, based on the Intel 8080A CPU. Sold as a kit through Popular Electronics magazine, the designers intended to sell only a few hundred to hobbyists, and were surprised when they sold over ten times that many in the... For the Chicago-based electronica group, see TRS-80 (group). ... 4k TRS-80 Color Computer from 1981, 26-3001 The Radio Shack TRS-80 color computer (also called Tandy Color Computer, or CoCo) was a home computer based around the Motorola 6809E processor and part of the TRS-80 line. ...

Radio Shack had another big hit with products designed to take advantage of the Family Radio Service, a short-range walkie-talkie system. Since the mid-1990s, the company has attempted to move into the consumer small components markets, focusing on marketing wireless phones. The Family Radio Service is an improved walkie talkie system authorized in the United States. ...

In 1993, Len Roberts became president of Radio Shack. The move came as a radical career departure for Roberts, who spent more than 20 years in the food industry, beginning with Ralston-Purina, where he served in various management and marketing positions.

In early summer 1995, it was elected that the name "Radio Shack" would be spelled in CamelCase as "RadioShack", and a new logo would be launched. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

RadioShack Corporation

RadioShack tape recorder

In May 2000, the company dropped the Tandy name altogether, instead opting for RadioShack contracted into one CamelCase word. The logo had been changed from the '70s-style bullethole lettering to the current stylized R in 1995. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (1728 × 1152 pixel, file size: 406 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) RadioShack desktop cassette recorder and two cassettes sitting on a hardwood chess board. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (1728 × 1152 pixel, file size: 406 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) RadioShack desktop cassette recorder and two cassettes sitting on a hardwood chess board. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Also in 2000, the company-owned Realistic and Optimus brands were discontinued when the company entered into an agreement to carry RCA products, although RadioShack hasn't made products under the Realistic name since the early 1990's. When the RCA contract ended in 2004, RadioShack added its own Presidian and Accurian brands, and then re-introduced the Optimus brand in 2005 on some low-end products. RadioShack still has its own brand of batteries, called Enercell. RCA, formerly an acronym for the Radio Corporation of America, is now a trademark owned by Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson. ... Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM...

A few RadioShack stores still carry products dating as far back as the 1980s. Older RadioShack products feature the old logo, or an older Realistic or Archer brand name. It is not uncommon to see a few generations of packaging variations on slower moving products.

Until 2002, RadioShack routinely asked for the names and addresses of customers who made purchases so they could be added to the mailing list. Personal information is still requested when purchasing a cellular phone, service plan, mail order part, Direc2U item (which is a fee-free special ordering of a product not in stock), returning an item, paying with a check, or opening a RadioShack Answers Plus credit card. The Seinfeld television program satirized this practice in one episode. As of February 2007, the company has again begun to request customer information on nearly all purchases, though the practice is not quite as strictly required of associates. Also see: 2002 (number). ... Seinfeld is an Emmy Award-winning American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989 to May 14, 1998, running a total of 9 seasons. ...

On December 20, 2005, RadioShack announced the sale of its newly built riverfront Ft. Worth headquarters building to German-based KanAm Grund. RadioShack will continue to lease the property for 20 years. is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Charles Tandy also inspired the Tandy Kids, a duo of teen calculator enthusiasts who teamed up with the likes of Archie and Superman.

"Fix 1500" initiative

In a controversial and wide sweeping move, RadioShack in early 2004 introduced a program to "correct" inventory and profitability issues company wide called Fix 1500. District managers and administrators assessed the skill level of all store managers (5,000+ at the time) and put the 1,500 lowest-graded managers "on notice". The strategy was revolutionary because employees were not included in the program because of parameters based on tangible store and personnel data. Instead, managers were selected by assessed skill deficiencies obtained in subjective one-on-one interviews between district and store management. What created more controversy was that the metrics of the skill deficiencies were graded in comparison to all other store managers, with a pre-determined number (1,500) of selections. Simply put, store managers were not selected for Fix 1500 based upon their own skill level, but in comparison to how the other 70% of store managers company wide were subjectively graded. [1]

Typically, a 90-day period would be established for the manager to improve his/her "grades" (thus causing another manager to then be selected for Fix 1500). As a result, a total of 1,734 store managers were reassigned as sales associates, or terminated, in a 6-month period. Also, during this period of time, RadioShack canceled the employee stock purchase plan. Although the stock price began to surge, by the first quarter of 2005, the metrics of skill assessment used during Fix 1500 had already been discarded, and the corporate officer who created the program had resigned.

By May 2005, RadioShack (RSH) stock fell over 30%, and the company offered to buy back shares from former employees and managers at a comparatively much lower price than the original purchase. This predictably decreased earnings per share (EPS), but improved overall volume at that time. Stock options for district and regional management however were never revoked.

CEO résumé scandal

On February 20, 2006, the company announced that its CEO, David Edmondson, had resigned over questions raised about his résumé. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram discovered that he had not earned degrees in theology and psychology from Heartland Baptist Bible College as claimed on his résumé. [2] RadioShack's board of directors stood up for Edmondson, but Edmondson admitted to the errors, calling them "misstatements", and resigned.[3] is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dave Edmondson David J. Edmondson (born 1960) is the former CEO and President of RadioShack. ... Look up résumé, curriculum vitae, resume in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. ... Heartland Baptist Bible College is an independent Baptist Bible college located at 4700 NW 10th St Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ...

In wake of Edmondson's absence Claire Babrowski acted as CEO, chief operating officer and president for RadioShack. She had just joined several months prior, after spending 31 years employed with McDonald's Corporation, most recently as a vice president and Chief Restaurant Operations Officer. In August 2006, Claire Babrowski left RadioShack, later to become COO and Executive Vice President of Toys "R" Us. McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants, primarily selling hamburgers, chicken, french fries, milkshakes and soft drinks. ... Toys R Us (currently typeset as Toys Я Us in the logo) is a toy store chain based in the United States, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, South Africa, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. ...

RadioShack had also admitted that 2005 fourth-quarter earnings had fallen 62 percent after a switch in wireless providers led to an inventory write-down. The news sent the company's shares to an almost three-year low.

On July 7, 2006, RadioShack's board of directors announced it had chosen Julian Day, 54, to serve as chairman and chief executive officer of the company. Day has successfully served in senior leadership positions at several large publicly traded retailing companies in the U.S. and had played a key role in revitalizing such companies as Safeway, Sears and Kmart.

Company restructuring

New strategy

To divert attention from the scandal concerning former CEO Dave Edmondson's departure, RadioShack in the spring of 2006 announced a strategy to increase average unit volume, lower overhead costs, and grow profitable square footage. Many prior efforts involving supply chain management, store management liquidation, and excessive store display renovations had failed. Since the plan’s announcement in February, the company has closed 480 underperforming stores, consolidated its distribution centers, embarked on a cost restructuring program, and liquidated end-of-life merchandise to make room for a new product assortment. Dave Edmondson David J. Edmondson (born 1960) is the former CEO and President of RadioShack. ...

Corporate layoffs

Despite these actions, stock prices plummeted within what was otherwise a booming market. On August 10, 2006, RadioShack announced plans to reduce its workforce at company headquarters by approximately 400 to 450 positions across its various support functions. Company officials said this action was necessary to reduce the company’s overhead expense and improve its long-term competitive position in the marketplace while supporting a smaller number of stores. is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Most of RadioShack’s planned reductions occurred on August 28 at its headquarters operation in Fort Worth, Texas. Approximately 1 out of 5 positions were eliminated, and it affected employees at all levels of the company. is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

All employees at the corporate headquarters were informed of the impending cut 10 days in advance. As previously communicated to employees, an e-mail notification was sent on the published day and time to employees whose positions were terminated. They were given 30 minutes to finish packing up, say their goodbyes to co-workers and then attend a meeting with their senior supervisors. Afterward, a larger meeting with human resources allowed departing employees to obtain their benefits packages and ask questions. This move drew immediate widespread public criticism for its perceived lack of sensitivity.^[2] There have been many profuse efforts by RadioShack Corporation to modify, minimalize, and in some cases delete reportage of this controversy.^{[citation needed]} Reportage can be a single journalists report of news (especially when witnessed first-hand), distributed through the media. ...

District Manager Restructuring

Announced via conference call on April 7, 2008, RadioShack plans to restructure District Manager positions throughout the company. Essentially, each district will contain 17 or 18 stores. Districts that currently have more stores will be split as logically as possible to reduce the volume of stores they are responsible for. This will allow each District Manager to spend more time with each store. The moves should happen within two weeks, which would be approximately April 25, 2008. Not much more information is known at this time. CEO Julian Day is expected to officially announce this change in the next few days. April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ...

International operations

Operations in Canada

Pre-2005

The Canadian counterpart of RadioShack, also known as Radio Shack, was run by a company called InterTAN, acquired in 2004 by Circuit City. However, RadioShack sued InterTAN one week after the purchase, claiming InterTAN had breached the terms of their agreement. On March 24, 2005, a U.S. district court judge ruled in favor of RadioShack and cancelled their agreement, meaning that all 950 RadioShack stores in Canada must stop using the brand name in any of their products, packaging or advertising by June 30, 2005. As a result, all of the InterTAN stores were rebranded under the name The Source by Circuit City and RadioShack Corporation planned to open its own stores in Canada under the RadioShack name. The Source by Circuit City This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... InterTANistan is a Canadian consumer electronics retailer that operates stores under the banners The Source by Circuit City, Battery Plus, G-Wiz, THS Studio and UpClose. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Circuit City Stores Inc, as of May 19, 2004. ... is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Source by Circuit City (formerly known as RadioShack Canada) is an electronics retailer with over 800 locations across Canada. ...

Post-2005

After preventing InterTAN from using the RadioShack trademark, RadioShack announced its intention to re-enter the Canadian market itself with a Canadian division. InterTAN pursued court action to prevent RadioShack from using the trademark in Canada until the original 2010 expiry date of the original licensing agreement. The company had planned to have 20 to 30 stores operating in Canada as RadioShack by the end of 2005, mostly in the Toronto area, but progress was slower than anticipated. As of September 2006, nine company-owned stores had been opened and 16 dealer stores were operating under the name RadioShack, signing new agreements with RadioShack Corporation.

In January 2007, RadioShack Corporation announced that it closed its nine company-owned stores in Canada in order for the company to refocus its attention and resources on strengthening its core business in the U.S. [4].

Operations in Australia

InterTAN Australia ran Tandy stores until 2002, when it was announced that Woolworths Limited would acquire them for AUD$114 million and merge them into their existing Dick Smith Electronics business. After the merger, Woolworths found Tandy to be in poor condition and has been trying to rejuvenate that part of the business since. Various Radioshack & Optimus branded stock continue to be sold exclusively in Tandy stores, but these are continuously being superseded by DSE branded stock. Woolworths Limited is a major Australian company with extensive retail interest throughout Australia and New Zealand. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Operations in France

InterTAN operated Tandy stores in France, selling standard RadioShack brands, Realistic, Optimus, and Archer. Sales people sometimes came from the French-speaking Québec. The French subsidiary went bankrupt and closed by the end of December 1993. Sales representatives blamed this on the practice of selling non-store brands (such as IBM laptops) with margins that were too low. During the 1960s, a terrorist group known as the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) launched a decade of bombings, robberies and attacks on government offices. ...

Operations in Belgium

Tandy stores were introduced in Belgium in the early 1970s. The opening of a Tandy store was usually accompanied by a publicity campaign where free 5-D cell flashlights were given away, with free batteries available through the Tandy battery card. Initially, the Tandy stores only sold their proprietary brands such as Realistic, Archer or Optimus. By the mid-1980s however many Tandy stores had closed and by 1990, Tandy had disappeared from the Belgian market. In the last years of operation, they also stocked mainstream brands, which made the stores lose a lot of their peculiar character.

As at 2007, one Tandy store remains open in Merksem, claiming to be the only remaining Tandy store in Europe.[5] A district of the city of Antwerp. ...

Other operations

Corporate citizenship

RadioShack's charity of choice is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a nonprofit organization. The organization's store presence is the StreetSentz program, which is a child identification and educational kit readily available to families free of charge. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was established in 1984 as a private, non-profit organization, but seems more like a department of Justice program, based on the $30-million funding each year. ...

RadioShack's green initiative involves the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, in which end-of-life rechargeable batteries are dropped off in-store to be safely recycled. End-of-life wireless phones can also be recycled.

RadioShack and other retailer partnerships

In August 2001, RadioShack opened new kiosk-style stores inside Blockbuster outlets. The project ended in February 2002 when CEO Len Roberts announced that the stores did not meet expectations.^[3] A more successful venture for RadioShack has been the wireless kiosks the company has been operating since 2004 within Sam's Club discount warehouses. RadioShack purchased the kiosk operations from Arizona-based Wireless Retail Inc. Kiosk employees are contracted through RadioShack Corporation, and no RadioShack-branded merchandise is sold. Blockbuster Inc. ... Sams Club is a membership-only warehouse club owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ...

References

• Irvin, Farman (1992). Tandy's Money Machine : How Charles Tandy Built Radio Shack into the World's Largest Electronics Chain. Chicago: Mobium Press. ISBN 0-916371-12-3. 

is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

External links

• Official homepage of RadioShack
• Official homepage of RadioShack Canada
• Official history of RadioShack

Business data

• RadioShack Corporation at Google Finance
• RadioShack Corporation at Yahoo Finance
• RadioShack Corporation at Hoover's
• RadioShack Corporation at Reuters
• RadioShack Corporation SEC filings at EDGAR Online
• RadioShack Corporation SEC filings at the Securities and Exchange Commission