In a completely unsurprising piece of news, RadioShack, a retailer that used to periodically sell some electronics, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as predicted. Negotiations earlier this week resulted in an agreement where wireless carrier Sprint will take over about half of the chain’s stores, and the other half will close.
What doomed RadioShack? It was the iPhone, but not in the way that you might think. Back in the mid-oughts, the Shack bet its future on selling mobile phones and accessories. While being able to shop multiple carriers in one store was a definite advantage, depending on phone revenue was a bad plan as smartphones became popular.
Our thoughts are with the employees of Radio Shack. Even the ones who aggressively pushed extended warranties.
Strategic Confusion Put RadioShack at Mercy of Lenders [Wall Street Journal]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist