“Apple Computer and RadioShack have entered into a strategic partnership that will deliver Apple’s full line of iPods to the shelves of thousands of RadioShack electronics stores in time for this year’s holiday shopping season, AppleInsider has learned,” Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider. “According to industry sources, RadioShack, the nation’s No. 1 electronics specialty retailer, has agreed to carry Apple’s full mix of iPod digital music players at several thousands locations beginning the fourth calendar quarter of the year.”
“The Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer operates nearly 7000 stores, which combine to fall within five minutes of where 94 percent of all Americans either live or work. Of the 7000 stores, approximately 5000 are company-owned stores with the remainder being dealer/franchise-operated locations,” Jade reports. “Through both its online and brick-and-mortar retail stores, RadioShack currently carries a very small assortment of iPods from HP. The retailer sells a silver 6GB mini, 1GB shuffle, and 60GB iPod. However, in the case of 60GB HP iPod, RadioShack continues to list the player at its old retail price of $449 (about $50 above most advertised prices).”
Jade reports, “According to sources, RadioShack has been unable to reduce the cost of the player to fall inline with Apple’s recent iPod price cuts because HP, due to its own iPod licensing agreement with Apple, cannot offer proper price protection on the players. As a result, sources say RadioShack jumped at the opportunity to work directly with Apple, knowing it would be offered an amicable price protection policy on the players moving forward.”
Jade reports, “If iPod sales at RadioShack boom — and they are expected to — sources say both companies will be open to a pilot program that will test sales of Apple’s Macintosh computer line in the electronics stores.”
Full article, with many more details, here.
MacDailyNews Take: We always thought that the Mac mini would be the perfect Mac for Radio Shack outlets. Very affordable, enticing to hobbyists, works with existsing keyboards, mice, and monitors, etc.
I don’t believe the Mac mini is doing wll at BB. It’s not going to do well at Rshack either …
Radio Shack Canada (now called The Source by cicuit city) supposedly has apple iPods already. They are in the ad flyers but never in the stores. Some accessories maybe. If you go into to one to get an iPod they show the other mp3 players they have, and mention that “these are very stylish too!”. I’ve seen this happen, and customer response was, ‘no thanks, we want an iPod’
Seems people don’t want an mp3 player, they want an iPod. I told the customer after she left store to go to Apple Store Online and get one.
p.s. am i first?? probably not 🙁
Perhaps if BB had them plugged in, they might actually sell some. I hgave never understood the salesman anti-Mac behaviour you see in these stores (and others of their ilk). You nver see a particular TV set being treated this way. I thought a sale was a slae and as a professional salesperson (ha!) you should have product knowledge of all your lines. Computers seem exempt from this. Strange!!!
I worked at RadioShack for 7 years, and there was a time where we thought that we were going to become a retailer for Apple products. (I kinda wished they had). But instead we became the “Compaq Store @ RadioShack”. However, at the time, I was still a PC/Windows user. Who knows? I might have switched a lot sooner if that had happened.
I hope this does go through. It would help Apple get products out to areas where they don’t have their own store yet. I know we have 3 RadioShacks within driving distance from where I live (one is within walking distance), and the closest Apple Store is over an hour drive away.
RE: Bestbuy
The bestbuy salespeople I deal with only seem to know two phrases: 1) Uh…that’s not my department, and 2) if we had it it would be out on the shelf (i.e. too lazy to do a stock check).
This of course is if you can track a salesperson down (the momnent you make eye contact with one they dart away in another direction!)
Most of the employees that I have come across at the 3 best buys in my area are complete bozos.
Even the epson reps working at the bb’s are generally more helpful than the idiots in blue shirts.
There are times where I feel like grabbing some of them by the collar and slapping them around like rag dolls.
I was in Fry’s in San Marcos, Ca, this week and the sales-dork insisted that Macs have just as many viruses as windows computers, and wouldn’t back down from that BS. He finally just walked away from me.
MW- having, as in, having a sh-t f-t.
Excellent idea, but implementation?
From working there I can tell you that this could be as much a blessing as a liability. RadioShack employees are underpaid and undertrained. And because of this at least half of their employees are second class, don’t care sales people. Apple will have to get activly involved with employee training so that people don’t come in contact with don’t care and poorly trained employees and get a poor taste for apple because of it. Radio Shack will also have to start to advertize that they have Apple stuff because very few people think of going there for anything but wierd connectors and a “thingy for this thing”
so who has the most electronic retail locations in the USA?
Radio Shack thats who..
Fry’s, Best Buy, Circuit city, Walmart.. they can ALL shove off.
Radio Shack is a good place to go for the odd electronics item, but they are notorious for having clueless employees. On many occasions I have been told (or heard other customers being told) that an item is not carried, only to then find it right there on the shelf.
The iPod is so hot, RadioShack probably had to agree to some terms of Mac distribution to be able to get at the ‘Pods. Finally, a quality computer at RadioShack.
“I don’t believe the Mac mini is doing wll at BB. It’s not going to do well at Rshack either …”
YOu need a more positive out look on things. Apple’s groth is three times that of the PC sector. I think its doing very well and will more now with RC.
I hope they get better in store and strategic support from ‘Radio Crap’ than they are getting from the BestBuy channel.
I have not been inside a ‘Best’ Buy since they were the first to offer the Bondi Blue iMac for $999. I bought one without any help.
The ‘salesmen’ were hopeless and the checkout took 20 minutes. On a Thursday evening.
RS has well informed salesmen and stores deliberately designed so you cannot get lost in them.
This is good news for both parties.
btw
Micros**t sucks.
Ground Zero.
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CT =====]———— Family Ties, ya know…
That Frys in San marcos only has about 1 to 4 people total that have a clue of what they are selling and or knowlegable about an item. The others dont and they normaly reside in the mac section! And its a poor Mac section at best!
Radio Shack! ” You’ve got Questions? We’ve got…blank stares!”
BB has a poor record of selling Macs. If there display machines don’t work or not even plugged in then how do they expect anyone to be interested. That’s why the Apple store is so popular. Not only can you try out all the systems displayed but they are even connected to the internet as well. So if Radio Shack imitates BB then yea they won’t sell much.
This is a fantastic idea for one reason and one reason only. Apples cost the same wherever you buy ’em (with the rare exceptions, of course.) PC’s are cheap at discount computer stores and cheaper online, so buying a PC at a RS is a dumb idea. Buying a Mac at a RS costs no more, and is likely to get you personal service and some face time with the sales guy, plus you don’t have to wait in a huge line for a return.
I’ve been buying my Macs (now up to 3 in my household) at the Apple store since I “switched”. The Apple stores are overwhelmed with business, so offloading some to RS would be excellent.
As another poster pointed out, however, Apple should insist on training all RS employees and should enforce other rules on maintaining in-store stock and other policies. RS and other stores have the habit of playing loose with stock and return policies.
…The Apple iPod, it’s the next best thing to building your own digital music network.
Take heed, transistors have come a LONG WAY…attitudes, that’s a
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different story.
CT IIII———————————–IIII hellO OUT THERE
No question about it…Radio Shack has game…U2 limited edition iPod, anyone?
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CT ======]———– posthaste
No question about it…Radio Shack has game…U2 limited edition iPod, anyone?
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CT ======]———– posthaste
No question about it…Radio Shack has game…U2 limited edition iPod, anyone?
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CT ======]———– posthaste
What is this, fscking 1983 that you need “advice” from a salesman for buying a machine?
That’s retarded. Typical Best Buy transaction: “Hey Kelvin, you’ve got this machine on the floor. Got any in stock?”
“Whatever we have is out on the floor in the overstock.”
“Thanks Kelvin.”
Last time I bought a computer at Best Buy I couldn’t even find Kelvin, grabbed one of their ladder carts, climbed up and got it myself, and was walking away when Kelvin stopped me and said, “You’re not supposed to do that.” “Really? Where were you?” “Taking a leak.” “Exactly. Thanks Kevlin.”
Hell, it’s not like the Apple Store is loaded with mac mini experts either–when I bought mine they sold me an off the shelf Airport Extreme card with it. Luckily I stopped to look for installation instructions on one of the store’s machines before I left and saw that it wasn’t even the right part.
Apple selling iPods cheaper than HP branded iPods in direct competition?!?
By that I mean in the same computer stores.
And at what point does HP get pissed at its falling market share and stops buying iPods from Apple.
Would Apple really care? No, probably not.
But than I think Apple had better not start pissing off too many of its ‘partners’ in future. It smacks of the Mac cloners saga all over again…