Radioshack bankruptcy

Radioshack files for Bankruptcy

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Published: February 6, 2015 6:00 PM

We had previous reported on Radioshack's financial woes and its supposed talks with Amazon and Sprint.

Now it is official: Radioshack has filed for bankruptcy

Among the announcements are:

RadioShack has signed an asset purchase agreement with General Wireless Inc., an affiliate of Standard General L.P. (“Standard General”). General Wireless has agreed to acquire between 1,500 and 2,400 of RadioShack’s U.S. Company-owned stores.

General Wireless, the entity formed to acquire the stores under the asset purchase agreement, has agreed in principle on terms with Sprint to establish a new dedicated mobility “store within a store” retail presence in up to 1,750 of the acquired stores.

...the Company has filed a motion with the Court to proceed with the closure of the remaining company-owned stores under an agreement with Hilco Merchant Resources. A list of the stores slated for closure will be posted in the near future on the restructuring information section of the company’s web site at www.radioshackcorporation.com. Stores that are closing are expected to sell remaining inventory.

Its operations in Mexico and Asia are not included in the Chapter 11 filing.

In sum, the stores that General Wireless picked up will be partnered with Sprint. The remaining stores that fall within the bankruptcy filling will either be closed, leased, or auctioned off.

As for the talks with Amazon, it is unknown if there ever were talks. There are still a substantial number of Radioshack stores beyond what General Wireless is buying up and if the rumors are true about Amazon, then the online retail giant may still be interested in picking some of those remaining stores.

As for Radioshack though, it is the end of an era. The nearly 100 year old company has been a staple for consumer electronics from radios to computers to even remote control toys, and for a while was one of the few places you could buy and activate your cellphone. However, competition grew hard with the advent of online retailers and commercial outlets such as Best Buy. Radioshack also had severe management problems. They were suspended from the NYSE for being unable to submit a business plan to comply with its rules and their stock has tumbled.

Though it is sad to see one of the most well-known electronic retail symbols go, Radioshack's demise may see new options for the electronically savvy emerge.

So what is your take? Are you saddened to see Radioshack fading? Do you think the company had a chance with better managment? Do you still want to see Amazon pick up some stores? Sound off in the comments below.

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