“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.
Hahahahahahahahaha. Radio Shlock
Nothing screams “Chic Boutique!” like a package of Realistic™ batteries!
This has “Success” written all over it. :o)
Don’t you need to have something that people really want, to be able to do that?
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.
“150 in the next 12 months and 400 in three years, if successful.”
It doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict this outcome.
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.
How many unsuccessful attempts to copy Apple have to be made before it sinks into the general consciousness that APPLE CANNOT BE COPIED???
——RM
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.
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
The nation will have a lot of nicely redecorated retail store space available for lease in a few years.
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;” />
MDN:
I don’t want a Macbook Air right now but thanks for the offer.
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…?
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
haha douche bag… oh, I mean Deutsche Bank…
” . . . 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.
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.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
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.