The Onion Was First

From April 23, 2007:

Even CEO Can’t Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business

FORT WORTH, TX—Despite having been on the job for nine months, RadioShack CEO Julian Day said Monday that he still has “no idea” how the home electronics store manages to stay open.

“There must be some sort of business model that enables this company to make money, but I’ll be damned if I know what it is,” Day said. “You wouldn’t think that people still buy enough strobe lights and extension cords to support an entire nationwide chain, but I guess they must, or I wouldn’t have this desk to sit behind all day.”

The retail outlet boasts more than 6,000 locations in the United States, and is known best for its wall-sized displays of obscure-looking analog electronics components and its notoriously desperate, high-pressure sales staff. Nevertheless, it ranks as a Fortune 500 company, with gross revenues of over $4.5 billion and fiscal quarter earnings averaging tens of millions of dollars.

“Have you even been inside of a RadioShack recently?” Day asked. “Just walking into the place makes you feel vaguely depressed and alienated. Maybe our customers are at the mall anyway and don’t feel like driving to Best Buy? I suppose that’s possible, but still, it’s just…weird.”

From January 31, 2012:

RadioShack shares drop 30% after forecast

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) – Shares of RadioShack Corp RSH -29.13% plunged 30%, or $3.03, to $7.20 on Tuesday, a day after the electronics retailer said its fourth-quarter quarter earnings per share would be 11 cents to 13 cents, versus the expected 36 cents by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Janney Capital Markets downgraded the shares to neutral from buy and gave a fair value estimate at $7. Analysts at Janney said it was unclear when gross margin will bottom out and cited concerns over the firm’s weak performance around post-paid business with Sprint S -1.16%, its biggest carrier partner. In the fourth quarter, RadioShack’s gross margin narrowed to 35% from 41% a year ago.

Posted by on January 31st, 2012 at 10:54 am


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