RadioShack is on the final downhill slope to closing up shop permanently. In a report from Bloomberg, RadioShack is on the path to bankruptcy and is looking to close all of its retail stores across the nation. However, there are talks supposedly in the works between the near century old electronic retailer and Sprint who could buy up half of the stores leases. Currently RadioShack has just over 4000 store locations and the discussions come back with any where from 1,300 to 2,00 of them being on the table. I would imagine the stores Sprint would be after will be ones that are in location where they don’t have stores, or locations that would have a higher flow of visibility then current store locations that they might be at.
The deal isn’t something that is being opening talked about with the public, but sources close tot he matter, as they always are, have started to confirm things are being discussed. The deals could go in a number of directions for both parties. The two have supposedly discussed a co-branding approach after the purchase as well as a straight up switch over from RadioShack to Sprint. It could go a lot of directions, assuming Sprint ends up pulling through a deal that is.
It is still very early on and it is possible another alternate option could present itself with potential other bidders who might be more apt to financially back the electronics store and pull them above water.
RadioShack will always have a special place in many hearts across America. They often carried specialty parts that can only be found online. That could be one of the downfalls of the chain though as I could find many of the little things I needed for less through Amazon and the likes. It is certainly hard to stay in business as a smaller store front for gadgetry when you have Wal-Marts and Best Buys close to your front door.
Source: Bloomberg
