With more than 1,700 RadioShack stores slated for imminent closure, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic as the hit list includes numerous outlets I've visited over the years.
As announced early this month, RadioShack also is selling between 1,500 and 2,400 of its U.S. company-owned stores to General Wireless, an affiliate of Standard General formed for purposes of the asset purchases. In turn, General Wireless has teamed with on co-branding for a mobility store-within-a-store at many of the outlets, RadioShack said in the press release.
I suspect I'm not alone among No Jitter readers in shopping at RadioShack over the years. On the business side, other value-added resellers and interconnects have no doubt done the same, as have other sorts of businesses.
My trip down memory lane brings a variety of products to mind. They include:
The TRS-80 computer epitomizes the early days of computing for many users. The TRS four-to-one switch and RCA-to-HDMI cable converters provided a way for gamers with old and new computer games to use one input video among many games and different connections. Hobbyists and students have long flocked to RadioShack for the breadboards and science project kits they needed to make anything from solar-powered widgets to ham radios. The DIYers could build whatever they could muster from the shelves of RadioShack.
What do you remember most about RadioShack? Share your memories below, and click to the next page for a list of the retailer's milestones across the past century.
The TRS-80 computer epitomizes the early days of computing for many users. The TRS four-to-one switch and RCA-to-HDMI cable converters provided a way for gamers with old and new computer games to use one input video among many games and different connections. Hobbyists and students have long flocked to RadioShack for the breadboards and science project kits they needed to make anything from solar-powered widgets to ham radios. The DIYers could build whatever they could muster from the shelves of RadioShack.
What do you remember most about RadioShack? Share your memories below, and click to the next page for a list of the retailer's milestones across the past century.
The TRS-80 computer epitomizes the early days of computing for many users. The TRS four-to-one switch and RCA-to-HDMI cable converters provided a way for gamers with old and new computer games to use one input video among many games and different connections. Hobbyists and students have long flocked to RadioShack for the breadboards and science project kits they needed to make anything from solar-powered widgets to ham radios. The DIYers could build whatever they could muster from the shelves of RadioShack.
What do you remember most about RadioShack? Share your memories below, and click to the next page for a list of the retailer's milestones across the past century.
RadioShack Over the Years
This list, pulled from the Tandy Corp. 's website, provides an at-a-glance look at RadioShack highlights. Which do you find most interesting?
1919: Two friends start the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company in Fort Worth, Texas, supplying leather shoe parts and supplies to repair shops.
1921: Two brothers open the first "Radio Shack" in Boston, a small retail and mail order business supplying ship radio equipment and "ham" radios. They borrowed the name for the store from the small wooden structure onboard ships that housed the radio equipment.
1935: A predecessor of present-day RadioShack Corp. lists shares for trading on the NYSE.
1947: Radio Shack opens the first audio showroom to feature speakers, amplifiers, turntables and phonograph cartridges. Also that year, Charles D. Tandy joins the family business and would soon begin to chart a new direction for the company's expansion.
1959: Charles Tandy is elected as chairman of the board. The company is renamed Tandy Corp. and officially moves the headquarters to Fort Worth.
1959: Tandy Corp. sells its first Realistic CB radio.
1963: Tandy acquires Boston-based "Radio Shack" (as the retailer was then styled).
1972: The Company sells its first all-electronic calculator.
1977: RadioShack introduces the first mass-marketed, fully assembled personal computer, the TRS-80, with a Level II BASIC operating system created by Bill Gates. The TRS-80 is warmly remembered in the technology community to this day; by the 1980s, RadioShack comes to be known as "the biggest name in little computers."
1983: The Company introduces the "Model 100" laptop, the first of its kind in the computer industry.
1984: Radio Shack sells its first mobile phone.
1985: The Company starts selling satellite television systems and service.
2000: Tandy Corp. changes its name to RadioShack Corp.; later relisting shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "RSH."
2004: RadioShack launches kiosk sales segment in partnership with national wireless carrier and big-box retail partner.
2005: RadioShack becomes an Authorized Apple Reseller and later introduces Skype-certified hardware and software in stores for free voice- and video-calling over the Web.
2008: RadioShack launches Trade & Save; a trade-in program that allows customers to trade used devices at no cost, no matter where they were purchased, for credit toward a new purchase.
2009: RadioShack concludes an extensive two-year grass-roots education campaign with the American Library Association to assist consumers in navigating the nationwide conversion to digital television broadcasting in high-definition, which earned a special commendation from the FCC in 2010.
2011: RadioShack introduces Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier, and its industry-leading products and services in stores nationwide. Along with AT&T and Sprint, consumers can choose from all three top post-paid carriers as well as a range of pre-paid options.
2012: The Company introduces RadioShack No Contract Wireless in recognition of the growing popularity of pre-paid plans.
2013: RadioShack introduces new brand and opens the doors of first concept store in Manhattan in July 2013. Later opens first custom concept store paying homage to hometown and technology heritage in the popular Sundance Square area of downtown Fort Worth.
2013: RadioShack launches the unparalleled "IT Happens" protection plan in November, offering same-day in-store replacement for qualifying products priced less than $300 and many more benefits through a simple in-store claim process.
2013: By the end of 2013, the company will have made improvements to nearly all 4,300 U.S. company-owned stores. This includes more than 100 concept and brand statement stores, which feature bright, completely redesigned interiors and new exterior signage.
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