# RadioShack Confirms Change to "The Shack"



## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

http://www.dealerscope.com/article/...y-known-more-commonly-the-shack-410722_1.html


> Confirming reports from over the weekend, RadioShack said Monday that it will launch a rebranding this week, in which the company will be known more commonly as "The Shack."
> 
> The company will still be called RadioShack officially, but it will emphasis the "Shack" name in retail and marketing, in a move an executive compared with "FedEx" or "Coke."


More.

:lol:


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

Richard King said:


> http://www.dealerscope.com/article/...y-known-more-commonly-the-shack-410722_1.html
> More.
> 
> :lol:


How are they even still in business???


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

dave29 said:


> How are they even still in business???


My thoughts exactly. I wonder if the people that shop there are aware of online retailer and big box store prices.

I only go to "The Shack" once every 2 or 3 years if I need to pick up a very unique item that I don't have time to order.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I had an emergency item that I needed recently (a VHS-C adapter). They actually had it in stock, a purely mechanical one for $24.00. I found a Memorex mechanical one on line for $7, IIRC. It was junk so I ordered an electronic one (has a small battery powered motor) for about $15 or so. It works just fine. I just laughed with the guy at the Rat Shack told me the price.


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

Greg Alsobrook said:


> My thoughts exactly. I wonder if the people that shop there are aware of online retailer and big box store prices.
> 
> I only go to "The Shack" once every 2 or 3 years if I need to pick up a very unique item that I don't have time to order.


Same as me. If it's not an emergency, it's getting ordered online. There is no way I'm paying $25 for a 6' USB cable.:lol:


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

dave29 said:


> How are they even still in business???


Two words: Monster Cable.


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## fluffybear (Jun 19, 2004)

Greg Alsobrook said:


> My thoughts exactly. I wonder if the people that shop there are aware of online retailer and big box store prices.
> 
> I only go to "The Shack" once every 2 or 3 years if I need to pick up a very unique item that I don't have time to order.


I was in a 'Shack' a couple of weeks back and when I saw the prices headed straight for the door. There prices were 2 to 3 times higher on many items I tend to need then just about anywhere else.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I have to agree with many of you... that a name change isn't going to do it here. They need to rethink their value proposition, rethink what they bring to the market. I have three "shacks" in my hometown and haven't been in one in years. If they provided solid, reasonably priced accessories, they'd get a lot more of my business.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Some of us have called it "The Shack" for many years...so its about time the company got the name right...


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Some of us have called it "Rat Shack" for decades. I do understand the desire for a name change. In World War II a ship's radio shack was home to the most high-tech equipment. Today the term is hopelessly dated, but honestly the term fits the store's image. 

Maybe they can re-invent themselves, add computer repair and home theatre installation services, carry unlocked phones perhaps, or perhaps they can continue to be the home for store-brand batteries and remote control stuff that doesn't work.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

My company recently went through a "rebranding"...not a name change, but logo and colors, etc....

We were told that 75% of all Fortune 500 companies that rebrand (which can include name changes) do so in a "down economy" over the past 25 years.

So just add "The Shack" to the list. 

Maybe they'll get Shaq O'Neil to do some commercials around the correct spelling of the new name...:lol:


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I suspect they got the "Radio Shack" name back when they really catered to the ham radio crowd and other real do it yourself types. I can remember when going to a radio shack was fun just to look at the "stuff" that you would never see anywhere else (like ham radio gear). They had racks of loose electronics parts. You could buy a single (unbagged resistor of nearly any value if you desired.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Yeah, remember when you could bring your vacuum tubes in for testing there? That was on the way out when I started visiting there... in favor of TRS-80s.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RadioShack



> 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 then-nascent field of amateur, or ham, radio[2]. Theodore and Milton Deutschmann opened a one-store retail and mail-order operation in the heart of downtown Boston on Brattle Street, near the site of the Boston Massacre. They chose the name "Radio Shack," which was a term for the small, wooden structure that housed a ship's radio equipment....
> 
> 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.


THAT had to be a great buy.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Yeah, remember when you could bring your vacuum tubes in for testing there? That was on the way out when I started visiting there... in favor of TRS-80s.


Of course, in the '60's you could test your tubes at nearly any drugstore. You probably don't remember that though. :lol:


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## Mavrick (Feb 1, 2006)

I remeber that shortly before their demise Circuit City had started to rebrand some of their stores "The City" and I guess we all know now how that worked out.


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## wingrider01 (Sep 9, 2005)

Mavrick said:


> I remeber that shortly before their demise Circuit City had started to rebrand some of their stores "The City" and I guess we all know now how that worked out.


They are back -


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Not really. The name is there, owned by the same people who own the CompUSA and TigerDirect names. It's not the same operation.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

should have changed it to "cell shack".. 80% of the store is cellphones now...

I miss being able to build projects from their discrete component collection.. now I have to online order most of it


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## MIKE0616 (Dec 13, 2006)

Was actually in a Radio Heap yesterday, they were close to where I was (they have several in town) and needed a part that wasn't worth the drive to a real electronics supply house and shipping would have been more than the cost of the item I needed, so thought they were worth a try.

When I went through the front door, all I could see was cell phones, aisles and aisles of cell phone, cables for cell phones, battery packs, nothing but cell phones and cell phone accessories. It looked as if Verizon, Sprint, ATT, etc. had all bombed the store, nothing else was viewable in the place. I asked the young kid there if they still carried anything other than cell phones and accessories and was amazed that they actually do, almost 1/8th of an aisle was taken up by solder, irons, wire clips (which was what I was after, one for a 9 volt battery), and batteries. The item I wanted was under $3, but thought I may as well get a 9 volt battery while there, as well. The 9-volt that I had meant to get a Kroger the other day for about 2.50 was a mere 4.50 at Radio Heap.  They have learned from rip-off cables, haven't they? 

Bought the clip, spare solder, and decided I will never darken their doors again as they have not really got anything I am interested in now that I am oversupplied with solder (.32) and 9-volt connectors. 

Since they are wanting to change their image to something more applicable, why not something to reflect what they really do likke "Cell Phone Shack" and ad slogan could be "what Strickland does for propane, we do for cells."


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## MIKE0616 (Dec 13, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Not really. The name is there, owned by the same people who own the CompUSA and TigerDirect names. It's not the same operation.


and people who were on email and mailing lists for Circuit City are now bombarded by the same old crap that Tiger Direct has been famous for. All TD bought in either case was those mailing lists.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

As an old Radio Shack customer - '50s to 80's - "The Shack" sounds like someplace you'd get hamburgers, hot dogs, and shakes. But by the '90's I rarely cross their threshold anyway. Makes one a bit melancholy thinking of Radio Shack, it's relationship to radio, Tandy computers, etc. Getting too old.:nono2:


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

phrelin said:


> As an old Radio Shack customer - '50s to 80's - "The Shack" sounds like someplace you'd get hamburgers, hot dogs, and shakes. But by the '90's I rarely cross their threshold anyway. Makes one a bit melancholy thinking of Radio Shack, it's relationship to radio, Tandy computers, etc. Getting too old.:nono2:


Ya know they coulda called it the "Love Shack"...


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## clueless (Dec 6, 2004)

"The Shaft" would be a more appropriate name.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

There hasn't been much in the way of 'radio' there for a long time. A few CBs and scanners, but don't bother to ask the clerks any questions about them.

By the way, cell phones are radios, aren't they?


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## sswheeler (Aug 27, 2008)

I have always called it "Sh**Shack". Cables "for emergency purposes only" is all they are good for. Why do they need a life history when you pay cash for something?:shrug:


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Depends on what you're looking for... A couple of years back they had some good closeout deals on some Dish receivers and some OTA digital converters that were discontinued.

Also, they have a pretty liberal return policy. I know it came in handy when I was trying various indoor OTA antennas to find an optimal config for my HDTV... and it was nice to know I could return no-questions-asked the items that didn't work well in my home.

At the risk of stirring the pot...

Maybe they should have changed their name to Syfy Shack? :eek2:


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## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

RS = Rip-off Shack

I must admit that I'm very surprised they are not yet bankrupt. Not that I'd want to see that given they employ a lot of folks in their corp headquarters in Fort Worth and stores around the country. But, it's amazing they still have cash flow these days.


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## springdale_sam (Jan 14, 2006)

I remember when we used to go down to Radio Shack and swap scanner crystals. I used to love Radio Shack it is alot different now.


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

MIKE0616 said:


> When I went through the front door, all I could see was cell phones, aisles and aisles of cell phone, cables for cell phones, battery packs, nothing but cell phones and cell phone accessories. It looked as if Verizon, Sprint, ATT, etc. had all bombed the store, nothing else was viewable in the place.


The funny thing is from what I've seen they don't have any live phones, they're all plastic dummies. The weekend the Pre came out I wanted to go and play with it my first stop was the Sprint store in the mall, but the Sprint Store is now an empty space, there one week, gone the next, so I went downstairs to RadioShack and they had a few rows of dummy phones from all the providers. I still remember two years ago when I wanted to upgrade my Nextel phone and wanted one NOW, I stopped into RS and they salesgoon started telling me how the Nextel service no longer exists and existing Nextel subscribers would be migrated over to Sprint phones in the next 6 months. Yeah, two years later the iDen Network is still going strong and Sprint is showing a pretty strong commitment to it.

Last time I bought something at Radio Shack was last May when I got this computer, spent friggen $35 bucks on a DVI -> HDMI converter. Video card only has DVI inputs, monitor only has an HDMI output, and I didn't want to wait. If I was smart I would have bought one, ordered one on Monoprice for $3 then returned the one from RadioShack when the other one came in the mail.


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## redsoxfan26 (Dec 7, 2007)

I bought my first D* system at Radio Shack.


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## Zellio (Mar 8, 2009)

How about these names:

'Used Car Shack'

'Crap Shack'

'High Prices'

'Wasting Your Time'


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

redsoxfan26 said:


> I bought my first D* system at Radio Shack.


Almost (keyword being Almost) got a Primestar system from Radio Shack back in 1995 or 1996.


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## Glen_D (Oct 21, 2006)

I used to shop Radio Shack all the time. Not so much the last few years, since about the time they discontinued their catalogs. They don't mail me their monthly sale circulars anymore, ans I don't remember the last time I saw one of their sales flyers in my Sunday paper - probably last Christmas.

About the only time I go there is when I need a specialty cable, connector, or adapter. Usually about the same price as an online source when you factor in shipping charges, and I don't have to wait for it. And even though I haven't purchased one recently, they are the only retailer I know of in my area that actually stocks traditional directional rooftop OTA TV antennas in the stores.


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## jazzyd971fm (Sep 1, 2007)

Greg Alsobrook said:


> I only go to "The Shack" once every 2 or 3 years if I need to pick up a very unique item that I don't have time to order.


Same here.


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## tvjay (Sep 26, 2007)

As my friend just said, "You've got questions, we've got phones".


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

They just opened a new Shack down the block from my house. Surprised me when they were building it. I'm actually glad they did, because while I'll probably only go there once or twice per year (to spend less than $10 each time), it'll be very convenient.


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## dduensing (Oct 5, 2007)

Does anybody remember the old Sierra futuristic game "Roger Wilco"? In one of the games you had to visit a mall to get a cable from "Radio Shock" (as in electrical shock)...a DANDY company. 

I worked for a Radio Shack for 3 months during the Christmas season in the late 80s. The manager wanted us to stay up front in the first 20 feet of the store, since that's where all the high-priced items were. We were not to go to the rear of the store with the parts and cables, unless there was a desperate need. I was one of only two people with any kind of technical knowledge....in fact, they wanted people with sales abilities instead. 

So unfortunate. :nono2:


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Whenever I go in and they ask "Can I help you?", I respond, "I doubt it."


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## wingrider01 (Sep 9, 2005)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Not really. The name is there, owned by the same people who own the CompUSA and TigerDirect names. It's not the same operation.


looks like they are planning retail brick and mortar also - friend is a business specific agent and is handling the disposal of the store fronts here, the company pulled two of them from the disposal list - the two that did the most business here and are the most modern locations


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

That should be interesting to see. I think there's a market for a store that's more parts-oriented like "the shack" used to be but not as big as Fry's. I'd welcome one in my hometown.


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

I remember ordering parts from Radio Shack in the 1950s (mail order from Boston, pre-Tandy). There is a Radio Shack dealer store a few miles from me but the only real electronics parts stores are a $12 ferry ride and a long drive away, so I still make small purchases at RS.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Stuart Sweet said:


> That should be interesting to see. I think there's a market for a store that's more parts-oriented like "the shack" used to be but not as big as Fry's.


How true.

But I must admit when I think of needing new coax connectors, or a bigger hard drive, or other such components....Fry's comes to mind first. Often, their prices can't be beat.

But it appears that this will likely be more than just a public-facing "name change" for "The Shack" anyway - they perhaps are going to try to reinvent/redefine themselves too (inventory, web positioning, etc).


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Seems that the featured items at Radio Shack these days are Cell Phones, electronic toys and Monster Cables. Granted, they still sell a variety of parts, HT equipment, PA amplifiers, mixers, etc., but those items aren't their bread and butter, but more a concession to their former days.
I remember buying an amplifier kit from an RS catalog back in the fifties. In those days, they competed firms like with Newark Electric, Olson Electronics, Lafayette Radio, Concord Radio and Allied Radio. Concord and Lafayette merged and later faded away. Allied was bought out by Radio Shack, Olson was bought out by Teledyne. Radio Shack almost died at the same time, but was bought out by Tandy Leather Company of Fort Worth. Newark was acquired by Premier Industrial in 1968, and has grown tremendously since then.


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## brant (Jul 6, 2008)

i buy a lot of things from my local radio shack. 

they still have a very broad assortment of electronic parts; you can buy almost any component there. 

its a small radio shack franchise tucked away in the back of a furniture store. the prices are great and the people are nice, though i've known them all my life. 

they have a few phones and just started selling lcd tv's last year. its not at all your typical radio shack.


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## Charise (Jan 25, 2004)

I still get all my alkaline batteries at RS. They last a long time and are a good buy in their big packs. I got my current cell phone there, and if I need an adaptor for something, they always have it--so far in my experience--for a good price.

They can't stay open on my business, but I like having one closeby.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Cholly said:


> In those days, they competed firms like with Newark Electric, Olson Electronics, Lafayette Radio, Concord Radio and Allied Radio.


Heathkit was in there somewhere.


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