Fortunately is that since today RadioShack. Is Radioshack Still In Mailorder Business… has actually formally been acquired by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), offering the distressed company a new lease on life. The downside, at least for folks like us, is that there are no immediate plans to return the iconic electronic devices retailer to its brick-and-mortar roots. As the name indicates, REV concentrates on online retail, having previously revamped the Internet presence of other bankrupt businesses such as Pier 1 Imports and Dressbarn.
While the press release doesn’t straight-out preclude the possibility of new physical RadioShack places, it’s clear that REV believes the future of retail isn’t to be discovered in your regional strip mall. As the US mulls further lockdowns in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s difficult to disagree. There will be millions of bored kids and grownups searching for something to do during the long winter season nights, and an electronic package or 2 shipped to their door might be simply the thing.
REV says they prepare to relaunch the rather outdated RadioShack website just in time for the company’s 100th anniversary in 2021. As of this composing the website presently says that sales have been temporarily stopped to permit stock restructuring, though it’s unclear if this is directly related to the buyout or not. Getting an accurate count of just how much product the business still has on hand after shuttering the majority of their physical areas in 2017 definitely sounds like something the new owners would want to do.
Like most of you, we have fond memories of the Golden Age of RadioShack, back before they thought selling televisions and phones was in some way an excellent concept. To their credit, they did attempt and revive their relationship with hackers and makers by asking the neighborhood what they ‘d want to see in their stores. But all of us know how that story ended. While it doesn’t appear like this news will get us any closer to having a community store that stocks resistors, there’s a certain convenience in understanding that RadioShack books and sets will still be around for the next generation.
RadioShack’s shambling remains were given another jolt of life today when they were bought by another company that prepares to relaunch the once-great retailer as an online-focused brand name.
The shop’s remains were bought by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), a start-up founded in 2019 that’s been scooping up brands from other faded retail giants as well, including Pier 1, Modell’s Sporting Item, Dressbarn, and more. REV states RadioShack’s site already has “strong existing sales and sales capacity,” and the business is “confident” it can further raise awareness of the brand name globally.
REV declares it’s successfully reversed other companies it’s launched as online brands. The Wall Street Journal reported that Dressbarn more than doubled its earnings between the 2nd and first quarter of 2020.
RadioShack was founded in 1921 and became a retail staple in the ’80s and ’90s for anyone wanting to grab tech essentials. For a very long time, that implied actual radio elements, but wound up including great deals of electronic toys (one Edge editor fondly remembers his Armatron) and ultimately phones. Its fortunes decreased significantly as online shopping showed up, and the business declared personal bankruptcy twice in the past five years. RadioShack still certifies its name to third-party “licensed” stores and offers top quality items within some locations of HobbyTown, a crafts seller– comparable to how you can still find “Sharper Image” items at Kohl’s even though that retailer shut its physical doors over a years back. REV didn’t state whether those RadioShack licenses would stay. Is Radioshack Still In Mailorder Business
REV says it will “soon relaunch” RadioShack’s website. For those of you still sticking on to fond memories of the store, there’ll be a familiar sufficient place to go when you desire to purchase overpriced HDMI cables and knockoff headphones.