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What RadioShack's Bankruptcy Means To Me
10 years ago
General
I am a manager in a RadioShack store...but I don't work for RadioShack. I actually work for a pharmacy, as the manager of the RadioShack department.
Our store is an independent RadioShack Franchise dealer. We're what's known as a "store within a store". Basically, we have a franchise agreement with RadioShack that allows us the right to use their name on our store, and sell their products in our store. They're pretty much nothing more than a supplier of inventory to us. This is actually how a lot of RadioShack stores are in small towns. Although standalone RadioShack Franchise stores do exist, they're typically integrated into pharmacies, hardware stores, or office supply stores.
The franchise stores have actually been fairly lucky during RadioShack's bankruptcy process. Aside from interruptions in receiving new inventory, the bankruptcy so far has actually had a minimal effect on us. Even when the time comes that we are no longer able to receive any inventory from RadioShack and/or are required to stop using the RadioShack name, we have the freedom to simply begin ordering inventory from alternate suppliers. Thus, aside from a change in the name of our store and a few changes in our inventory, it'll pretty much continue to be business as normal for us. I'll still be employed as a manager, but it'll be for the "electronics department", not the "RadioShack department". We'll continue to sell electronics. I'll continue to help customers with their technological problems, answer their questions, and provide them the service they need.
Contrast this to the corporate-owned RadioShack stores. Aside from the lucky few that managed to get included in the Sprint partnership agreement, they are all closing. Several thousand of them. To be honest with you...this makes me kinda sad.
Having worked in a franchise store has given me a sort of hybrid "inside outsider" view of RadioShack during the past eight years of their downfall. We franchise stores were somewhat insulated from a lot of the bad management that occurred at corporate levels, but we were not immune to it. I recognize, acknowledge and accept that RadioShack had flaws...many, MANY flaws. Unlike some corporate employees, I won't try to excuse or downplay them, because not being an employee for the corporate side means I haven't been made to drink the RadioShack Kool-Aid and spout the RadioShack Gospel. That said, I still feel some respect for RadioShack, and sadness at the end having arrived like this. I've come to respect what the company stands for...or at least attempted to stand for. Yet, not being directly attached to RadioShack in a corporate sense still allows me to have this bit of an outsider's perspective into what has been happening here.
Admittedly, most of my sad feelings about RadioShack's bankruptcy have a tinge of nostalgia to them. When I was young, I loved going to the local RadioShack store, the one that existed here before the owners retired and the pharmacy bought out their franchise agreement. Whenever I saw a RadioShack store in a mall, I had to go in and look around. As a nerd, it was an awesome place to me. So, despite acknowledging the numerous problems RadioShack had, and actually deriving a little bit of occasional amusement from having a front-row seat to watching them fall into shambles...I truly am sad about the end of this once-awesome company.
Don't worry about me or my future employment. As I said, I don't work for RadioShack, I work for the pharmacy in the RadioShack department, and plans are already in progress to transition us over to alternate suppliers. My employment will continue. I will be fine. I just wanted to share my thoughts on this situation. Take care. :3
-Torin
Our store is an independent RadioShack Franchise dealer. We're what's known as a "store within a store". Basically, we have a franchise agreement with RadioShack that allows us the right to use their name on our store, and sell their products in our store. They're pretty much nothing more than a supplier of inventory to us. This is actually how a lot of RadioShack stores are in small towns. Although standalone RadioShack Franchise stores do exist, they're typically integrated into pharmacies, hardware stores, or office supply stores.
The franchise stores have actually been fairly lucky during RadioShack's bankruptcy process. Aside from interruptions in receiving new inventory, the bankruptcy so far has actually had a minimal effect on us. Even when the time comes that we are no longer able to receive any inventory from RadioShack and/or are required to stop using the RadioShack name, we have the freedom to simply begin ordering inventory from alternate suppliers. Thus, aside from a change in the name of our store and a few changes in our inventory, it'll pretty much continue to be business as normal for us. I'll still be employed as a manager, but it'll be for the "electronics department", not the "RadioShack department". We'll continue to sell electronics. I'll continue to help customers with their technological problems, answer their questions, and provide them the service they need.
Contrast this to the corporate-owned RadioShack stores. Aside from the lucky few that managed to get included in the Sprint partnership agreement, they are all closing. Several thousand of them. To be honest with you...this makes me kinda sad.
Having worked in a franchise store has given me a sort of hybrid "inside outsider" view of RadioShack during the past eight years of their downfall. We franchise stores were somewhat insulated from a lot of the bad management that occurred at corporate levels, but we were not immune to it. I recognize, acknowledge and accept that RadioShack had flaws...many, MANY flaws. Unlike some corporate employees, I won't try to excuse or downplay them, because not being an employee for the corporate side means I haven't been made to drink the RadioShack Kool-Aid and spout the RadioShack Gospel. That said, I still feel some respect for RadioShack, and sadness at the end having arrived like this. I've come to respect what the company stands for...or at least attempted to stand for. Yet, not being directly attached to RadioShack in a corporate sense still allows me to have this bit of an outsider's perspective into what has been happening here.
Admittedly, most of my sad feelings about RadioShack's bankruptcy have a tinge of nostalgia to them. When I was young, I loved going to the local RadioShack store, the one that existed here before the owners retired and the pharmacy bought out their franchise agreement. Whenever I saw a RadioShack store in a mall, I had to go in and look around. As a nerd, it was an awesome place to me. So, despite acknowledging the numerous problems RadioShack had, and actually deriving a little bit of occasional amusement from having a front-row seat to watching them fall into shambles...I truly am sad about the end of this once-awesome company.
Don't worry about me or my future employment. As I said, I don't work for RadioShack, I work for the pharmacy in the RadioShack department, and plans are already in progress to transition us over to alternate suppliers. My employment will continue. I will be fine. I just wanted to share my thoughts on this situation. Take care. :3
-Torin
I used to work in retail for Office Max back in the '90s and the upper management did their best to almost kill that company too. Barely handing on with the merger with Office Depot. I guess being a franchise helps insulate some of the shenanigans of upper management. Back in the store I worked at, we try hard to delay implementing bone-headed polices as long as possible since most of the changes back anyway. Every once in awhile an actually good idea comes down the pipe but those were rare indeed.
Most of RS stores here are standalone places (I live in a fairly large city). I do vaguely recall a store-in-a-store many moons ago and thought it was a bit odd at the time. It was a small section in the back that had several shelves of Shack stuff.
I also remember how Radio Shack sued an automobile supplier first called AutoShack because they partially shared the same name. I thought it was a bit of a dick move as the was in completely different market and people wouldn't (or at least shouldn't) confused the two. AutoShack did relent and renamed themselves AutoZone, which I like better but still. I mean OfficeMax didn't sue CarMax but RS felt they had to sent effort on it for some reason. I bet they wasted a lot of money on lawyers on that.
If you see these demons invited on to your management team, polish your resume and prepare to leave. I've had the bad sense of failing to do this, and had too many companies die around me.
I'm glad you get to keep your job! *hugs*