Radio Shack

[MikeRa]

The RadioShack at Neshaminy Mall, Bensalem, PA is closing after being open since 1974

[HannafordHearts]

The Radio Shack at Colonie Center in Colonie, NY is closing up for good as well, although it's still listed on the Radio Shack site.

Colonie Center - Colonie, NY by snappyjack1, on Flickr

[Bdubs]

Using the Radio Shack store locator, its telling me only 2 stores are open in CT. Bristol and Watertown.

[Hudsons81]

It seems like the Radio Shack in Southgate, Michigan is still open right now.

[Ameskid]

Vintage Radio Shack ad, probably not in good taste nowadays.

Radio Shack Ad, Late 1940s by harvestmanman, on Flickr

The former location in Owings Mills, MD...
Owings Mills Mall, Owings Mills, MD by harvestmanman, on Flickr
Owings Mills Mall, Owings Mills, MD by harvestmanman, on Flickr

...and the closed location in Florence, KY, which has now been boarded up.
Former RadioShack, Florence Mall by harvestmanman, on Flickr

The closing location inside Cincinnati's Carew Tower...still open as of a couple days ago.
Radio Shack, Carew Tower by harvestmanman, on Flickr


And the Newport, KY location, which has received a new logo and is still doing just fine, thank you very much.
RadioShack, Newport, KY by harvestmanman, on Flickr

[ynkeesfn82]

I can't believe when I took pictures inside the now-demolished Bristol Center Mall in Bristol, CT 9 years ago I forgot to take a picture of the old Radio Shack. They had already been closed for several years before they closed the mall 9 years ago.

[Hudsons81]

I can't believe when I took pictures inside the now-demolished Bristol Center Mall in Bristol, CT 9 years ago I forgot to take a picture of the old Radio Shack. They had already been closed for several years before they closed the mall 9 years ago.

I feel your pain.

I'm glad myself that I took a picture of the old Radio Shack inside Northland Center in Southfield, Michigan back in March, a month before the entire mall closed permanently. This Radio Shack had already been closed for quite a long time.


Plus, the location on Woodward in midtown Detroit that just closed had the current logo. What a waste there. In addition, the condominium it's in is on somewhat of a death spiral, as the Biggby Coffee in there also just closed.

[jamesway_95]

Radio Shack in  Southington, CT is open and there's a sign in the window that says "We're Open. 94 Years and Counting. #teamradioshack".

The RadioShack in Hammonton, NJ has a similar sign.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

The Radio Shack stores are failing in my area, while some locally-owned Radio Shack Dealer stores in my area are doing just fine.

Two Radio Shack dealers in my area:
* Sound Check Radio Shack, Mountain Bay Plaza, Pulaski, Wisconsin
* Oconto Electric Cooperative Radio Shack, Highland Square, Oconto Falls, Wisconsin

[Ameskid]

That Shack location I posted about in the Carew Tower is still open...but only until Friday.

RadioShack, Carew Tower by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

I'm kind of tempted to make them an offer for that cool neon sign...wonder what my chances would be of getting it on the last day of the sale.

(edit: apparently very slim, as they closed a day early!)

[Hudsons81]

That Radio Shack in Southgate, Michigan is presumably still open, as it's still on Google Maps.

[MikeRa]

The Radio Shack at Neshaminy Mall, Bensalem ,Pa is down to it's last 3 days.  The  Radio Shack locations at Oxford Valley Mall, Langhorne, PA, and Roosevelt Mall, Philadelphia, Pa are still going strong, and listed on the Radio Shack website.

[JimSawhill]

Someone should get a few of the closed stores and remake Radio Shack to what is was in the 60s and 70s - electronic kits and parts for radios, r/c toys and batteries. They were mismanaged lately...

[Ameskid]

Sadly, I don't think there is much of a market for electronic kits any more. Electronics have become "magic boxes" with "no user-serviceable parts inside", so the days of building your own equipment are probably gone for good.  Besides, online sources provide scads of parts for the enterprising electronics repairperson at cheaper prices than RadioShack ever had.

[MikeRa]

The now shuttered Radioshack at Neshaminy Mall is one of 3 former stores in that mall, along with the former Dollar tree and Kay Bee Toys sites, that will be converted into extra space for Boscov's

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

One of the former Radio Shack stores on Green Bay's west side became Cricket Wireless.

[BillyGr]

One of the former Radio Shack stores on Green Bay's west side became Cricket Wireless.

As has the one in Westgate Plaza in Albany (NY).

[Ameskid]

Former RadioShack, Carew Tower by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

Former location in Eastgate Mall, Union Township, OH.

Former RadioShack, Eastgate Mall by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

[Hudsons81]

Former location at Southland Center, Taylor, Michigan.


Former Woodhaven, Michigan location. (source)

[Hudsons81]

The former Radio Shack at Studio One Plaza in midtown Detroit is now an AT&T store.

Meanwhile, the Radio Shack in Southgate, Michigan is still in operation-and it is not slated for closure any time soon.

[JSIDA17]

Closing TONS of stores because of their bankruptcy, most of them in northeast CT/southeast MA have closed already.

[retailisking]

Turning around RadioShack was always going to be a hard slog, but word has it Sprint has pulled out of the partnership and HQ has quietly laid off all merchandising and marketing people and all but two of its replenishment people. Liquidation could come within 90 days. Note the comments...
http://www.twice.com/radioshack-profits-are-prime-directive/64297

[giantsfan2016]

2 former inner city Radio Shack locations  are now Sprint Stores.

196 East Main Street New Britain, Connecticut in the New Brite Plaza.

63 Overlook Terrace Hartford, CT in the Charter Oak Market Place Plaza.

Both plazas are owned by Paramount Realty.

Last week Spanish Station Bomba-FM did a remote from the New Britain store. This week Bomba will be at the Hartford location. Hip-Hop station HOT 93.7 will be at the New Britain location this weekend.

[AcmeForever]

1987 footage of two stores in California (one in a shopping center and one in a mall):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNjlC95esFk

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

The corporate stores are closed, but the dealer stores, however, are what's keeping Radio Shack alive...

[TheFugitive]

The politically incorrect Radio Shack ad posted above in this thread is actually quite interesting.  It was published during World War II.  Amateur radio was essentially shut-down by Congress during World War II over fears of espionage.  There were severe penalties for being in radio contact with someone outside of the United States for example.  The government built a bunch of elaborate monitoring stations to find and track down unauthorized broadcasts. 

This obviously would have put a big crimp into Radio Shack's business since they were all about servicing HAM operators and hobbyists at that time.  So they pivoted to supplying parts for the military.  Almost all of the people who held amateur licenses at the time were men, and the vast majority of those were in the military anyway, where their skills were put to use in the Signal Corps.

[BillyGr]

The politically incorrect Radio Shack ad posted above in this thread is actually quite interesting.  It was published during World War II.  Amateur radio was essentially shut-down by Congress during World War II over fears of espionage.  There were severe penalties for being in radio contact with someone outside of the United States for example.  The government built a bunch of elaborate monitoring stations to find and track down unauthorized broadcasts. 

This obviously would have put a big crimp into Radio Shack's business since they were all about servicing HAM operators and hobbyists at that time.  So they pivoted to supplying parts for the military.  Almost all of the people who held amateur licenses at the time were men, and the vast majority of those were in the military anyway, where their skills were put to use in the Signal Corps.

Of course, at that time Radio Shack was a very small company, primarily in the Boston (MA) area - even when Tandy took them over out of what was basically bankruptcy (aka a negative net worth) in 1962, they had only nine stores (the furthest out was Syracuse, NY), though they did at that point have a fair amount of mail order that was causing some of their financial issues (trying to ship large, heavy equipment that was easily damaged in transit).

[TheFugitive]

The politically incorrect Radio Shack ad posted above in this thread is actually quite interesting.  It was published during World War II.  Amateur radio was essentially shut-down by Congress during World War II over fears of espionage.  There were severe penalties for being in radio contact with someone outside of the United States for example.  The government built a bunch of elaborate monitoring stations to find and track down unauthorized broadcasts.

In 1962 most of what they had to ship would have been vacuum-tube based.  Meaning heavy and fragile. 

The politically incorrect Radio Shack ad posted above in this thread is actually quite interesting.  It was published during World War II.  Amateur radio was essentially shut-down by Congress during World War II over fears of espionage.  There were severe penalties for being in radio contact with someone outside of the United States for example.  The government built a bunch of elaborate monitoring stations to find and track down unauthorized broadcasts. 

This obviously would have put a big crimp into Radio Shack's business since they were all about servicing HAM operators and hobbyists at that time.  So they pivoted to supplying parts for the military.  Almost all of the people who held amateur licenses at the time were men, and the vast majority of those were in the military anyway, where their skills were put to use in the Signal Corps.

Of course, at that time Radio Shack was a very small company, primarily in the Boston (MA) area - even when Tandy took them over out of what was basically bankruptcy (aka a negative net worth) in 1962, they had only nine stores (the furthest out was Syracuse, NY), though they did at that point have a fair amount of mail order that was causing some of their financial issues (trying to ship large, heavy equipment that was easily damaged in transit).

This obviously would have put a big crimp into Radio Shack's business since they were all about servicing HAM operators and hobbyists at that time.  So they pivoted to supplying parts for the military.  Almost all of the people who held amateur licenses at the time were men, and the vast majority of those were in the military anyway, where their skills were put to use in the Signal Corps.

Of course, at that time Radio Shack was a very small company, primarily in the Boston (MA) area - even when Tandy took them over out of what was basically bankruptcy (aka a negative net worth) in 1962, they had only nine stores (the furthest out was Syracuse, NY), though they did at that point have a fair amount of mail order that was causing some of their financial issues (trying to ship large, heavy equipment that was easily damaged in transit).

You are correct.  In 1962 most of what they sold would have been based on vacuum tubes.  So, heavy and fragile.  Difficult to ship.