While this is a cool idea for a store, does it really fit with the assets that Radio Shack has? Here's what I see they've got to work with:
- lots of retail stores in crappy locations. There's no way I'll hear the difference between a Grado and a Sony when the juicer at Orange Julius is echoing down the hallway. It would be perfect for 3d printers, though.
- Cheap, non-committed workers. I'm not sure it would be worth training everyone there how to use a 3D printer if they only stay there a year. Also, not everyone there would be able to sell hifi; definitely not better than the blue-shirts can.
- A good supply chain of custom-branded products. This used to be their bread-and-butter, but no one wants Enercell batteries anymore.
- A brand name that has been diluted. I know Brookstone is great for craptastic stuff, but it would take a lot to re-educate people on the new RS.
I think the point is, there current business model of catering to low end clientele is NOT working. They need to reinvent themselves and this is what I feel has the most legs of keeping them alive. The margin for high end goods is much more palatable than selling power strips.
The long and the short of it is, RS needs to radically change everything about themselves and go for broke. Trying to do slow changes while holding onto a legacy business will just leave them in a situation like compusa.
Right. So close down the legacy business and start something new. Whether you do so within the existing corporate structure is for the lawyers and investment bankers to decide. Pop quiz: What's Woolworth's these days?
Isn't that the case with 99% of retail? I'd think any executive that proposed paying retail workers a living wage with predictable hours would get fired as a traitor in the War on Employees.
Yeah I worked there in the early 2000's for maybe 6-8 months. It was miserable. Having any technical knowledge or interest in learning new things was zero help at all. All they cared about was how many new cell contracts you sold and as this was the only way to make more than minimum wage, we were quickly broken down and begrudgingly pushed those contracts and upsold those extras.
The whole place was terribly hostile to employees and we actually had to drive out of town once a month for "sales meetings" where a bunch of middle management patted each other on the back and talked about the new acronyms for whatever their current dipshit strategy was to squeeze a few more points of growth onto this month's charts.
- lots of retail stores in crappy locations. There's no way I'll hear the difference between a Grado and a Sony when the juicer at Orange Julius is echoing down the hallway. It would be perfect for 3d printers, though.
- Cheap, non-committed workers. I'm not sure it would be worth training everyone there how to use a 3D printer if they only stay there a year. Also, not everyone there would be able to sell hifi; definitely not better than the blue-shirts can.
- A good supply chain of custom-branded products. This used to be their bread-and-butter, but no one wants Enercell batteries anymore.
- A brand name that has been diluted. I know Brookstone is great for craptastic stuff, but it would take a lot to re-educate people on the new RS.