) writes:
I dropped into a local mall where Radio Shack has held sway for
years and they were still doing business at the same old stand: the
same people, and much of the same stuff hanging on the walls. However,
the big red RADIO SHACK sign, which we loved to hate had been replaced
by a "the SOURCE by circuit city," a curious name that for now, had no
emotional response. Inside the store, all the wall cards of components
were in the same place but renamed in fresh packaging as "NexXtech."
Some new brands, never seen in the old Radio Shack, such as Acer and
Pioneer were noted as were the absence of the horrible Compaq, whose
proprietary bios has caused so much difficulty. There seemd to be a few
more radios in stock: eton, Grundig, and some Chinese offerings not
seen before including an interesting twin-speaker digtal am/fm/sw
portable for C$89. I have seen the same model branded as "the Sharper
Image" on ebay for about US$40.

Once again, Radio Shack in Canada has been differing from the USA version
for some years. "Nexxtech" is not a new brand, and neither is their
"Centrios"; both have been used for some time now. It's been some time since
there was much in the way of items branded with "Radio Shack" in the Canadian
"Radio Shacks"; one of the few things they had to clear out was the Radio
Shack batteries. Even the parts had "Nexxtech" on them. While I have
no idea what it's like in the US, well known brands have been available
at Radio Shacks in Canada for some years. So they carried Grundig radios,
rather than Radio Shack rebrands, you could get RCA items, and Panasonic
and whatever other common brands there are.

Again, Circuit City has owned Intertan here in Canada for some years. This
name change is the result of a legal decision, but the fact that there
is a name change is not an indication of any other changes. They had to drop
the name and the items with the name, but they were already diverging from
the US version of Radio Shack. Perhaps they will drop parts, again, but it
won't be because they are no longer Radio Shack.

Micahel