RadioShack lives!
Carol's latest Retail Wire weigh-in on Radio Shack's hookup with Sprint and how its choice of a new chief might hint at future strategy.
Name recognition counts for a lot and literal deconstruction of the Radio Shack banner misses the point. Radio Shack's biggest challenge is that its locations are known for selling hardware. As households move to wireless solutions, cloud storage, etc., and as competitors like Best Buy and Walmart get better at balancing digital and physical assortments (showcasing high-margin, grab-and-go accessories in store, for example), that's a problem. It's quite interesting that a Dell executive has been tapped for the top spot. Dell, the company that went contrarian by doubling down on hardware (PCs) as a gateway to more profitable services and solutions. Hmmmm.
