Analyst: RadioShack testing new concept designed to emulate Apple Retail Stores

82 Comments

“Shares of electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. climbed Friday after an analyst said the company may soon test a new concept designed to emulate Apple Inc.’s popular stores,” The Associated Press reports.

“Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Baker said he believes the company’s pilot project will ‘replicate the look and feel’ of Apple stores, and may include access to some wireless brands not carried by the company, such as T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T,” AP reports.

“‘Our source indicates that (RadioShack) is building three test stores to open by October, and then will hope to have ten by year end, 150 in the next 12 months and 400 in three years, if successful,’ Baker told investors in a research note Friday,” AP reports.

Full article here.

[Attribution: Electronista. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Sir Gill Bates” for the heads up.]

Some people will never get it.

82 Comments

  6. 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.

    Reply

  10. 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.

    Reply

  12. 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.

    Reply

  13. 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.

    Reply

  14. “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?

    Reply

  17. 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. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”oh oh” style=”border:0;” />

    Reply

  20. 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…? ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />

    Reply

  22. ” . . . 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.

    Reply

  23. 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.

    Reply

  24. 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. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />

    Reply

  25. 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.

    Reply

  26. 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.

    Reply

  27. 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.

    Reply

  36. 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.

    Reply

  38. 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…

    Reply

  39. 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.

    Reply

  41. 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.

    Reply

  44. 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.

    Reply

  45. …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….

    Reply

  46. 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.

    Reply

  48. “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.

    Reply

  50. 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! ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> Most ‘investors’ know no more about Apple and its products than the average Joe on the street. It truly is “irrational!” 😎

    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. 🙁

    Reply

  51. How long will it be before other companies finally learn that we don’t buy Apple products because they look nice? Sure, it’s nice, but it’s just part of the package. We buy Apple products because THEY WORK. The fact that they look good on top of it just makes it even better. As long as people continue to emulate only the look of Apple, they will never catch up.

    Reply

  52. Hmmmmm….

    I wonder if the ‘z;kdblkzxcl’ and ‘RHLU;UOE67R’ posts were written by the same genius.

    We were almost thrown off the track by the use of all lower-case in the first moniker and all upper-case in the second.

    Perhaps the use of the semi-colon in both was the give-away?

    It’s that kind of genius that results in the formation of companies such as RadioShack.

    (Or Microsoft…Is that you, Mr. Ballmer?)

    Reply

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

    Well, certainly the best in its particular marketplace.

    On another note, don’t feed the troll – it doesn’t listen to reason and it doesn’t appreciate facts.

    Reply

  57. Look, I don’t care what Radio Shaq does to stay in business. I don’t buy anything substantial from them in terms of price, but it is good to know that in almost every town that I work (many, actually) there is a Radio Shack nearby for my fuse, capacitor, relay, switch, low voltage needs. Much more than that, in fact.

    I don’t care if the employees know how the crap works, either, just tell me if you have it in stock and where it is on the shelf.

    They started off as an electronics store. Sell whatever else you need to keep that part open.

    Reply

  64. That’s really funny… You means those stores located in strip malls across the USA.

    People go to the Apple Store because they are located in cool venues and sell cool products. The only things I buy from Radio Shack are odd cables and hard to find batteries (when I don’t feel like waiting for an online purchase).

    The funniest thing is that the stock price went up because of this news.

    Reply

  66. Read “Tandy’s” link. I’d say the biggest problem facing Radio Shack is the executive search committee that hired Julian Day.
    Hiring some one who has been a customer and “gets” Radio Shack before he starts the job would have been a better move than letting this bozo stumble around after he started getting a paycheck (and bailout package for after he screws it up).

    I’m like most of the posters who admit they actually go to Radio Shack. I’m looking for the last minute bit of technology support gear that I can’t wait until it can come via the UPS truck next Tuesday. I do have a ham license (we are still around). The RS I go to with the most frequency (sorry) is the local ham supply house. None of the stores amateur radio inventory comes from Radio Shack. It’s a side line for the store. You won’t find an Anderson PowerPole connector in Home Depot. You might in Radio Shack.

    I can see a place in the retail market for a seller of fairly priced cables (tried to buy an HDMI cable at Wal-Mart?) and a wide selection of odd bits of electronic gear (need a Bi-lingual FireWire cable?). But Apple’s retail store design has nothing to do with it. Maybe they could put a bar in each store, rather than trying to figure out how a Genius Bar might work. That would be genius.

    Reply

  68. If they plan to replicate Apple stores all the way, they better hire a whole new breed of employee. The bafoons that wait on me when I go in there all look like they failed their G.E.D. test the first time or two.

    Their cabling prices are simply outrageous. I drive to Fry’s any time I need a plug or wire or cable… a fraction of the price even though it’s ten miles away compared to 10 blocks away for the RS store near my house.

    Reply

  70. Radio Shack has brand recognition and something like 7000 stores that can reach customers in small / mid / large cities. That’s a huge potential advantage. I don’t know if a boutique model like Apple’s will work for them, but if RS senior management makes a few good decisions re/ inventory and merchandising their star could rise quickly.

    Reply

  71. Ha! You can tell how board everyone is when there are TWO pages of comments on a Radio Shack story. LOL.

    I’d be sad to see RS fail; I spend maybe $5-$20 a year there, but I’m glad they are around when you need the odd item in a pinch.

    Reply

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