Radio Shack in Canada
 

I was there today, "The Source" seems to be clearing everything off its
shelf that has the Radio Shack or Realistic name on it still, which
includes a lot of parts (which have probably sat there for years). No word
on if any replacements will be obtained. Even a lot of the Audio cables
were cleared off the shelf, half the useless devices, and the Radio Shack
batteries were 1/2 price. The salesman was like, "Nope, not getting rid of
our shortwave radios because none of them say Radio Shack on them."

Conan Ford ) writes:
I was there today, "The Source" seems to be clearing everything off its
shelf that has the Radio Shack or Realistic name on it still, which
includes a lot of parts (which have probably sat there for years). No word
on if any replacements will be obtained. Even a lot of the Audio cables
were cleared off the shelf, half the useless devices, and the Radio Shack
batteries were 1/2 price. The salesman was like, "Nope, not getting rid of
our shortwave radios because none of them say Radio Shack on them."

I'd forgotten about the parts having the Radio Shack name. I was
thinking just about all that remains is the Radio Shack brand
batteries.

Certainly they have been dropping the Radio Shack name from the
products in recent years, though I can't remember if it anticipated
the sale to Circuit City or came after. So those descendents of
the Minimus 7 speakers were branded Optimus for a while, and then
I think Radio Shack, and I think I've seen the same basic speaker under
the "Centrios" brand. In other words, the product remained but it
was rebranded.

So we have instead of "Radio Shack" or "Realistic" brands,
we see "Centrios" and "Nexxtech".

And of course, there have been well known brands in the flyers
in recent years, which was something that never happened in
the old days.

But you're right, the parts still carried the name. Of course,
four or five years ago, at least around here, the stores were
clearing out the parts, not just some but all. I remember getting
some neat items at about a third of the price, but also stumbled
on it late enough that some things I had wanted to stock up on
were already gone. The good thing about parts at Radio Shack
has always been that while the prices were often outrageous,
if you waited long enough the prices would become great when
the parts were cleared out.

Thanks for the reminder, I will check some of the stores
this week.

Shortly before I saw your post I did check http://www.radioshack.ca
to see if there was anything about clearing out Radio Shack brand items.
The site is gone, or rather, there is the press release about the
name change and a bit about the new name. ANd the new URL,
http://www.TheSourceCC.com

Interestingly, when I checked the flyer it says there is no current
flyer, though the current Radio Shack one runs till May 8th. Perhaps
that will be the last RS flyer in Canada.

Michael

Here is the story I referred to befo

http://www.globetechnology.com/servl...ry/Technology/

U.S.-based RadioShack Corp., which has won a court battle over the use of its
name in Canada, is poised to begin an aggressive launch of its own stores under
its namesake.

The rollout will make it even more difficult for Circuit City Stores Inc. of
Richmond, Va., to raise awareness of its new banner --The Source by Circuit
City -- after a ruling that its Canadian RadioShack outlets will have to be
renamed, observers said.

"It's a challenge," said Wendy Evans of retailing consultancy Evans & Co.
"RadioShack is such a well-known name. For the average person, there's going to
be confusion, for sure. They'll wonder who is The Source by Circuit City."

Canadian RadioShack stores are currently run under a licensing agreement by
InterTan Canada Ltd. But InterTan was acquired last year by Circuit City,
setting off the legal fight over the RadioShack name.

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Circuit City is the second-largest U.S. electronics chain and RadioShack didn't
want its name -- and products -- to help bolster a key competitor.

A Texas court ruled recently that the Canadian stores will have to drop the
name RadioShack by the end of June.

"We are committed to ensuring we maintain a strong brand presence in Canada as
soon as possible," Mike Kowal, an executive vice-president at RadioShack, said
as he arrived in Toronto yesterday on a trip to look for locations across the
country.

"Our goal is to be in some key cities in a key number of locations by this
Christmas . . . Our goal is to be aggressive this year, and to have stores and
re-establish our presence within the country."

He said RadioShack is determined to remain the dominant small-store electronics
specialty chain in Canada. The new stores will have an updated and brighter
look, he said.

Observers said it will not be easy for Circuit City's renamed RadioShack stores
to attract customers to the new banner. And with RadioShack entering the
country with the name, the job will be even greater.

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