RadioShack Prepares to File for Bankruptcy

During the 1980s, any mall you walked into would have a RadioShack. It was the place to go to purchase electronics. I spent quite a few of my dollars and time in Radio Shack. They always seemed to have the pieces I was looking for. During that time, the company thrived without much competition. When big-box stores like Best Buy entered the scene in the early 1990s with more products, standalone stores, and better prices, RadioShack began to suffer, but the company still managed to stay afloat, probably because of loyal customers like myself who had grown to rely on their inventory of parts.

By 1994, Amazon, Inc., was starting to bloom. It wasn’t until a few years later that Amazon became what it is now, but even those earlier days of selling electronics online hurt RadioShack’s business. In 2015, RadioShack filed for bankruptcy closing most of its 4,000 stores. The remaining stores were sold to Standard General LP.

A New Partnership

Standard General LP then teamed up with Sprint with the sole hope to revive RadioShack’s glory days. At the time, RadioShack execs announced big plans for the store telling the press that the company would again be able to compete with the likes of Amazon and Best Buy. Unfortunately, the days of mini-mall traffic were well forgotten at that point. RadioShack had to step up its eCommerce game or be pushed off the track completely.

This past week, Standard General LP in partnership with Sprint announced that RadioShack would file for bankruptcy for the second time. This time around, it doesn’t look like the company will bounce back. Reports have noted that even stores like Best Buy are struggling in a market where most people purchase electronics online.

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