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Jul 19, 08 - 08:50 am Comment from: ron

Hahahahahahahahaha. Radio Shlock

Jul 19, 08 - 08:53 am Comment from: kirkgray

Nothing screams "Chic Boutique!" like a package of Realistic™ batteries!

This has "Success" written all over it. :o)

Jul 19, 08 - 08:54 am Comment from: Wandering joe

Don't you need to have something that people really want, to be able to do that?

Jul 19, 08 - 08:57 am Comment from: kirkgray

No doubt a line of Radio Shack phone stores will do at least as well as the line of Radio Shack computer stores.

Radio Shack has hordes of irrational, insecure. and unintelligent fanboi patrons living in a desolate fantasy world of vain imagination?

You would think that after their failed attempt at a big box store (Incredible Universe) RS would shy away from changing their format/motif.

I applaud the risk taking, but I just don't think the Revenues they would generate could justify the expense of Apple like stores.

Don't get me wrong, I like RS. Anytime I need electronic hardware (cables, connectors, LEDs, switches), RS is where I go.

Jul 19, 08 - 09:17 am Comment from: Sir Gill Bates

"150 in the next 12 months and 400 in three years, if successful."

It doesn't take a crystal ball to predict this outcome.

Jul 19, 08 - 09:26 am Comment from: Winston

Homer: We'll search out every place a sick, twisted, solitary misfit might run to.

Lisa: I'll start with Radio Shack.

—From "Treehouse of Horror VII"

"...a new concept designed to emulate Apple..."
How can it be new if it is an emulation?

They are going to emulate Apple, by:

1. Finally selling products people want;
2. Hiring sales people who are there to help and not annoy; and
3. Heck, I don't know... I haven't stepped foot in a Radio Shack, I guess go back to suggestion #1 and repeat. That or Dell them, sell the company and give the money back.

Jul 19, 08 - 09:31 am Comment from: LordRobin

How many unsuccessful attempts to copy Apple have to be made before it sinks into the general consciousness that APPLE CANNOT BE COPIED???

------RM

Jul 19, 08 - 09:31 am Comment from: jarrettdailynews

There isn't a store on earth that could sell windows pc's correctly. People have to buy a crap computer because they are either heavily invested in the platform ( and pissed to find out there is an alternative) or they are ignorant to the competition, or they are filled with jealousy of the competition and come on this site to express it.

People, you can't emulate the experience. Whether it's the shopping experience, the overall hardware/software experience, or just the brand loyalty experience.

It would be like going to The Wynn Casino and buying a Ferrari, then going to Wal-Mart and buying a T-Shirt with a horse on it.

No excuse me, I have to go buy batteries.

Jul 19, 08 - 09:39 am Comment from: Ampar

On Apple Stores, 5/21/2001 - "I give them two years before they're turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake." - David Goldstein, President of Channel Marketing Corp.

Here's Dave's chance to actually get something right.

"How many unsuccessful attempts to copy Apple have to be made before it sinks into the general consciousness that APPLE CANNOT BE COPIED???"

Nonsense. There are many more companies more successful than Apple, and Apple is still in need of improvement.

Apple was woefully unprepared for its iPhone release, its partner (AT&T;) had screwed up, its other partner (Intel) is taken to court by EU, Apple has refused to divulge sales of all its products, Apple's forum as filled with complaints, and Apple still hasn't develop resolution independence even after more than 2 years of promises.

One might ask, who would want to copy this mess?

Article: Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/even_ceo_cant_figure_out_how

Jul 19, 08 - 09:49 am Comment from: ldrhawke

The nation will have a lot of nicely redecorated retail store space available for lease in a few years.

Jul 19, 08 - 09:50 am Comment from: HMCIV

All white interior. A Genius Bar. Rows of miscellaneous cables and radio parts setup for customers to test drive.

I'm having trouble envisioning what the kids corner will be like.

MDN:

I don't want a Macbook Air right now but thanks for the offer.

Jul 19, 08 - 10:02 am Comment from: Sir Gill Bates

Tandy,

That was hilarious. Thanks.

Don't get me wrong, I like RS. Anytime I need electronic hardware (cables, connectors, LEDs, switches), RS is where I go.

Problem is I don't see those goodies selling too well in an Apple Store format.

iPhones and iMacs, yes. LEDs...?

Jul 19, 08 - 10:13 am Comment from: MacLovin

haha douche bag... oh, I mean Deutsche Bank...

Jul 19, 08 - 10:14 am Comment from: Ampar

" . . . what the kids corner will be like."

You'll find a frazzled nurse, lots of bandages, transistors lodged in small nasal cavities, uncontrollable sobbing and the stench of ozone mixed with singed flesh. Optimus the Sharp Metal Clown and the animated corpse of Jessica Tandy will appear at random to badger the kids for their personal information and offer them RadioShack credit cards.

Jul 19, 08 - 10:14 am Comment from: Panolo

The problem that Radio Shack has, has less to do with store design and much more to do with the lack of training for their employees. Their retail sales formula is much like Circuit City, Just hire whoever will work for minimum wage and then hope the customer knows what he wants.

The real difference between the Allied Forces and the Iraq Army was training not just technology.

Steve Wozniak needs to buy Radio Shack.

Have the slick Apple stuff on one side of the store (iPhones, iPods, AppleTVs), the techie goodies on the other (cables, ICs, etc).

The best of both worlds.

Just hire whoever will work for minimum wage

....then make sure selling a single cell phone involves the entire store staff and at least one hour, while other customers go ignored.

I can't tell you how many times I've walked out of an RS empty-handed, just because of that.

Jul 19, 08 - 10:30 am Comment from: Sir Gill Bates

TRS80,

"Problem is I don't see those goodies selling too well in an Apple Store format."

They will if Radio Shack also copies Apple's award winning packaging designs. They could sell 50 ft. spools of zipcord for ten times the price if the box was cool enough. I'll bet that those things would sell like hot cakes and possibly rival the iPhone in sales.

Jul 19, 08 - 10:39 am Comment from: Sir Gill Bates

sales pitch,

I was always aggravated when you go to pay and they ask for your name, address and telephone number. I'm surprised they don't ask for your Social Security number too.

I was working on a project once and went in three days in a row. The last time they did that when there were several other people around me. I told them to shove it and walked out.

I think rick's radio shack emporium will thrive with the industrial look. I can buy my worthless slow as molasses radio control cars there, and do it in class ; )

Jul 19, 08 - 10:56 am Comment from: Ampar

Available while supplies last at the RadioShack Kids Korner:

My First Soldering Iron!
Ages 4 and under.
Limited Warranty.
Void where prohibited.

Jul 19, 08 - 10:58 am Comment from: alansky

Radio Shack better choose their new store locations carefully to make sure they can handle the long lines of customers eager to get their hands on all those fabulous Radio Shack products!

Jul 19, 08 - 11:00 am Comment from: Brau

Uhh, yeah .... We all know how great RadioShack's "Geniuses" are, don't we.

Jul 19, 08 - 11:17 am Comment from: Sir Gill Bates

"My First Soldering Iron!"

Hey, I had one of those when I was a toddler.

That's how I got my nickname: Scar Face.

Jul 19, 08 - 11:30 am Comment from: Ampar

A company named for a wooden hut crammed with antiquated ship to shore radio equipment is always going to be hip with the kids.

Jul 19, 08 - 11:31 am Comment from: TheConfuzed1

So they're going to be selling generic products with an Apple flair?

Good luck with that.

@Ampar:

What, you didn't have a wood burning kit when you were a kid? I might have been older than four when I got mine, but I wasn't much!

Jul 19, 08 - 11:43 am Comment from: Ampar

Yeah, I did, Digits. And chemistry sets, many RadioShack electronics kits and too many short lived hobbies to count (rock tumblers, polyurethane resin molds, etc.). I'm also damn lucky I don't have hooks for hands.

Jul 19, 08 - 11:52 am Comment from: Cubert

Once again, Apple leads and the rest of the world follows/copies.

Ahh… the sweetly annoying rumbly, crunchy, whiny drone of the rock tumbler. I couldn't stand to play in my neighbor's basement while his was running. For a week straight.

Should I tell you about the time my dad's bike came to a sudden stop when it hit the railroad tracks? With little me perched on the handlebars. Helmet? What's a helmet? What a physics lesson that was.

…good times…good times…

Radio Shack will do well with this new format. Apple stores already sell many non-Apple items that are accessories for Apple goods.or any PC or MP3 player. If Radio Shack can pull this off, they will do well. I never understood the reason why stores like Best Buy, Radio Shack, and others could not create well designed stores that make you feel like spending lots of cash. This has been a problem too long in the CE retail space. Looking forward to Apple getting more competition.

I can see the huge lines of people waiting to attend a Radio Shack store opening now! HA HA HA

Could RS do worse? I mean their current stores are brutal. If they improve look and style I can only see them improve. Man you guys are pathetic for knocking on everyone that doesn't have an Apple in their logo.

I love Apple but I am beginning to think that most people on here are just blind lemmings that secretly pleasure themselves with their mighty mouse while looking at a picture of Steve Jobs.

Jul 19, 08 - 12:54 pm Comment from: TheConfuzed1

I wonder who will host their keynotes.

The problem is, RS, you have to sell QUALITY products for that formula to win. Not cheap, overpriced, crap.

Jul 19, 08 - 01:35 pm Comment from: qka

How to drive more RS traffic:

Bring back the battery club card!

Anyone else here remember the batter club card - good for one free battery every month for a year.

Of course, most devices have more than one battery, so you had to have a card from each of the RS stores in the area.

…good times…good times…

Ah yes...

Chemistry sets that could poison you.

Real firecrackers (the old M-80's) that could blow shit up. Physics indeed...

A good gravel-eating bicycle crash.

Steel playground equipment with sharp corners. On pavement.

Electric "earthworm diggers" that could easily electrocute you.

Yes, to the days before the lawyers Fisher-Priced everything.
Todays sandbox-grubbing just wouldn't have the same edge....

Jul 19, 08 - 02:02 pm Comment from: Sir Gill Bates

Don't forget Erector Sets. Those were always good for a few slashed arteries.

And guns. Lots of guns. Nowadays, they don't want kids to use toy guns. Wait till they're 18 and give them a real one, then send them off to fight for the Emperor.

"Nonsense. There are many more companies more successful than Apple, and Apple is still in need of improvement."

And yet, Apple is the best there is...

"Shares of electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. climbed Friday after an analyst said the company may soon test a new concept designed to emulate Apple"

I know I don't get it. Apple shares are down even tho they have released one of the most popular electronic devices in 10 years (or ever). BUT, Radio Shack says they "might" test a new concept specifically to emulate Apple Stores - and their shares go up. They haven't actually done anything.

Who knows why Wall Street hates to see Apple succeed. While numerous business' flail around to play catch up - Instead of praise - Apple gets punished for being the smart kid in the class room.

@Evil Twin

Apple gets more than enough praise, especially from Apple fans. Fans aside, Apple's hot news link has a positive article about Apple just about every day.

http://www.apple.com/ca/hotnews/

Apple shares will bounce back up again. They always seem to go down for a few days following any big event.

You must remember, the 'market' is not based on logic. It's merely the combined opinions of average bloaks and the pressure of brokers who want you to sell and/or buy (they make money either way, of course). There are only a few "smart" investors, one lives in Omaha and drives an old truck! Most 'investors' know no more about Apple and its products than the average Joe on the street. It truly is "irrational!" 8-)

RS has what I forget to order online and need right now. If I were smarter, I'd never have to enter one again, 'spiffy' or not. They seem to have stopped asking for names now. I think they got tired of me telling them mine was "Cash Only!" Sad that any retailer thinks the public image of its stores is more important that what it offers to sell. :-(