Remember when Radio Shack was the coolest of all stores? Times they have changed. Not only has Radio Shack lost their cool factor but apparently they were close to bankruptcy last week before DW Investment Management bought the largest piece of the electronics retailer’s debt.
Radio Shack, which is selling at $.95 per share and has a current market cap of under $100 million (BestBuy’s market cap is currently $12 Billion) has had hard times of late as they look to find their sweet spot in a challenging market for electronics retailers. In recent years, Radio Shack had aligned their brand with the mobile phone market.
The Economist detailed their troubles earlier this year:
Ask Americans under the age of 30 what they buy at “The Shack”, and you will be greeted with a blank look. For today’s younger consumers the brand isn’t associated with anything they need… On a recent evening in one of the Washington, DC, metro area’s biggest malls, the Apple Store was packed; RadioShack was deserted.
Now, Radio Shack is making another bet with their remaining chips. This time it’s on Christmas drones! With the help of Weird Al Yankovic, Radio Shack is advertising their stores as “the place” to purchase drones. It’s worth a watch!
Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com