The bright side is that since today RadioShack. What Does Radioshack Mean… has officially been purchased by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), giving the troubled business a brand-new lease on life. The disadvantage, a minimum of for folks like us, is that there are no instant plans to return the iconic electronic devices retailer to its brick-and-mortar roots. As the name indicates, REV concentrates on online retail, having actually formerly revamped the Internet existence of other insolvent services such as Pier 1 Imports and Dressbarn.
While the press release does not straight-out preclude the possibility of brand-new physical RadioShack places, it’s clear that REV believes the future of retail isn’t to be discovered in your local strip mall. As the US mulls even more lockdowns in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to disagree. There will be countless bored kids and grownups trying to find something to do throughout the long winter nights, and an electronic set or two shipped to their door might be just the important things.
REV says they plan to relaunch the rather outdated RadioShack site just in time for the company’s 100th anniversary in 2021. Since this writing the site currently states that sales have been temporarily stopped to permit inventory restructuring, though it’s unclear if this is straight related to the buyout or not. Getting an accurate count of how much merchandise the company still has on hand after shuttering the majority of their physical places in 2017 certainly sounds like something the brand-new owners would wish to do.
Like most of you, we have fond memories of the Golden era of RadioShack, back prior to they believed selling televisions and phones was in some way a good concept. To their credit, they did try and rekindle their relationship with hackers and makers by asking the neighborhood what they ‘d want to see in their shops. However we all understand how that story ended. While it doesn’t look like this news will get us any closer to having a neighborhood shop that stocks resistors, there’s a particular comfort in knowing that RadioShack books and packages will still be around for the next generation.
RadioShack’s shambling remains were given another jolt of life today when they were purchased by another business that plans to relaunch the once-great merchant as an online-focused brand name.
The shop’s remains were acquired by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), a start-up founded in 2019 that’s been scooping up brand names from other faded retail giants too, including Pier 1, Modell’s Sporting Product, Dressbarn, and more. REV states RadioShack’s website currently has “strong existing sales and sales potential,” and the business is “confident” it can further raise awareness of the brand internationally.
REV claims it’s effectively turned around other companies it’s launched as online brands. The Wall Street Journal reported that Dressbarn more than doubled its income in between the second and first quarter of 2020.
RadioShack was founded in 1921 and became a retail staple in the ’80s and ’90s for anybody looking to get tech basics. REV didn’t state whether those RadioShack licenses would stick around. What Does Radioshack Mean
REV states it will “soon relaunch” RadioShack’s website. For those of you still clinging on to fond memories of the store, there’ll be a familiar sufficient place to go when you desire to purchase pricey HDMI cables and knockoff earphones.