Radio Shack to sell iPhones
In what could be seen as at least a minor surprise, it was announced earlier this week that some Radio Shack stores will soon begin selling the iPhone, both the 3G and 3GS models.
Radio Shack will soon join a very small group of retailers that are allowed to sell Apple’s iPhone, a group small enough that it has to be considered an honor and/or a privilege to be among them, regardless of how you feel about them individually. It is also apparently a shot in the arm financially, given that Radio Shack’s stock experienced a sharp rise on the announcement, jumping up 14 percent. Sales will begin immediately in the company’s New York and Dallas stores, and will begin nationally next year.
The Radio Shack chain has been working hard in recent months to increase their sales of cell phones, one more factor to help them move away from their somewhat mundane image as a prosaic retailer of electronics parts and Christmas toys. Radio Shack also sells phones from T-Mobile and Verizon, as well as some others serviced by the same AT&T network as the iPhone, according to a Bloomberg story.
Relative to shedding their hobbyist image, Lee Applebaum, Radio Shack’s chief marketing officer has said, “You will see a real focus on mobility and wireless products from leading brands in our new advertising. We have tremendous equity in consumers’ minds around cables, parts, and batteries, but it’s critically important that we help them to understand the role that we play in keeping people connected in this highly mobile world.”
Financial analysts agree that the iPhone is just what Radio Shack needs to spruce up its image. Among those to upgrade Radio Shack stock on hearing of the iPhone deal were analysts from FBR Capital Markets, who said “The iPhone is another significant vote of confidence for Radio Shack’s wireless business.” The combined image of Apple and Radio Shack is a little hard for some of us to get into sharp focus, but the move is obviously good for the people that will soon be calling themselves just “The Shack.”
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November 12th, 2009
I stopped going to Radio Shack when they became just a place you got hammered for satellite tv and wireless, and I worked for Tandy for 15 years starting in the early ’80s.
It should be a good fit, especially in those places too small for a big box specialty store since it’s about the last real boutique electronic chain left in the US.