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What ever happened to Radio Shack?

Posted by / August 25, 2005

16 Comments

radio shack.jpg
Without much fanfare, Radio Shack stores have quietly disappeared from our fair city.

I've seen the commercials for the new store - the unimaginatively named The Source by Circuit City - but I didn't make the connection until I drove by the old Radio Shack in the Kingston Rd./Lawrence Ave. area and saw the new signage. Growing up in Toronto, Radio Shack was the place for Christmas shopping (remember the Radio Shack catalogues?) and that requisite wire/cable/battery needed to complete my school science project.

Although it's hardly a reliable or definitive source of information, Wikipedia notes the reason for Radio Shack's demise in Canada. Apparently, the Radio Shack-branded stores will be making a comeback (under different ownership) but for now we're left with The Source.

I don't know if I should mourn Radio Shack's disappearance but I do feel mighty reflective.

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16 Comments

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Jason / August 25, 2005 at 09:53 am
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I was wondering what happened to Radio Shack. Like you, I spent a lot of time in those stores when I was younger.

Btw, I think your comment about Wikipedia is a bit off the mark. Maybe it's not authoritative, but Wikipedia is accurate. And if it isn't, someone (or someones) make corrections very quickly.
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Trevor / August 25, 2005 at 10:23 am
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So far as I'm aware, they're EXACTLY the same retail outlets - what's being lamented, here? A logo?
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ryan / August 25, 2005 at 10:32 am
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That's fair.

"not authoritative" probably better describes Wikipedia.
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bib / August 25, 2005 at 10:37 am
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if you think wikipedia is hardly a reliable source, then why use it?
also why only post a link to the main page and not to the spot:
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioshack#Operations_in_Canada";>link</a>


here is a reliable source:
<a href="http://corpinfo.radioshack.com/companyinfo/Internet_Html_Pages/footer.asp?x=447257517G";>link</a>
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ryan / August 25, 2005 at 10:40 am
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It's not a lament, more of a "really?" type of reaction.

Like when SkyDome became the "Rogers Centre."
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Dave / August 25, 2005 at 12:01 pm
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I agree, it was sad to see it go. But, I must admit that I found Radio Shack's prices were a bit high (aside from batteries) in the later days. They also didn't really stay on top of new technologies...like say...that iPod thingy (!).
On the lighter side, it was a Canadian standard for electronics. I got my first computer from Radio Shack - a TRS 80.

Apparently Radio Shack is returning:
<a href="http://www.radioshackisback.com/en/futureplans.asp";>link</a>

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brokenengine / August 25, 2005 at 12:25 pm
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I stopped shopping there a long time ago because of the form they would make you fill out. Anyone remember this? At least at the newmarket store, it didn't matter if you were buying batteries, you had to fill out this information form with your <i>ciriculum vitae</i> before they let you leave the store.
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James / August 25, 2005 at 02:58 pm
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I just bought some sneakers from Winners yesterday (yes, I feel like a Winner when I shop there). The check out girl asked me for my phone number and I simply said "Can we skip this step?" She was fine with that and I didn't have to divulge any personal information.

Wait... maybe she was trying to pick me up. DAMN!!
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Nancy / August 26, 2005 at 02:59 pm
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<p>My first reaction when I heard about Circuit City taking over was "Damn. Another Canadian business gone. Bloody Americans."</p>

<p>I was wrong.</p>

<p>Radio Shack is / was indeed American-born, and is now wholly owned by Circuit City.</p>

<p>This is just a re-branding. Nothing to worry about. Come Christmas, we'll have Source by Circuit City catalogues to point at and say "Mom! Can I have this?"</p>

<p>If you're of that age, of course..</p>
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James / August 26, 2005 at 04:00 pm
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Radio Shack isn't Radio Shack without the "Realistic" or "Tandy" branded merchandise. I remember the various radios, tape recorders, walkie talkies and more that I bought from RS over the years.

But when the Tandy and Realistic merchandise went away, so did I.
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babazoid / August 28, 2005 at 02:46 pm
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Meh, they just changed the name of the place and switched ownership. Seems like they aren't making many changes...

The real atrocity here is that they had a grade 9 student design the logo. WTF is with the Gothic font, it's super ugly. I mean Radio Shack's logo has always been ugly, but holy crap why spend the money rebranding if you're just going to make it more oogly.

Sigh. Morons.
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Tanja / August 30, 2005 at 03:53 pm
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I agree with you babazoid, on the ugly re-brading. The old logo was far better than this new cheap looking one and the posters/ads have not improved one bit. It's painfully bad.
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higado / September 6, 2005 at 10:55 pm
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Radioshack was always so freakin' expensive .... but there is no other store like so we just had to accpet it. Now the name changed to The Source by Circuit City and the prices "seem" like they dropped a "tiny" bit.
But what I don't get is two things:
1. Why did they rename it to "The Source by Circuit City" instead of just "The Source"? circuit city is not known to us canadian so it just makes the logo look uglier!
2. Why didn't they make an announcement that Radioshack was being renamed? seriously when I first saw an add for "The Source" in the paper I thought it was some new store trying to compete with Radioshack! such nonsense!
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Andrew Wasson / October 3, 2005 at 10:23 pm
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<p>So that's what happened to Radio Shack.</p>

<p>They could have at least held onto the radioshack.ca domain name and directed it to The Source or whatever they are now.</p>

<p>I also noticed Radio Shack US makes no mention of a Canadian distributor.</p>

<p>My beef with Radio Shack goes back to the mid tp late 80's when they started stocking keychains in favour of components. I ended taking my business to Active Electronics or RPE and lately EBay because the local Radio Shack stopped carrying those really <b>hard to get parts</b> like resistors and capacitors. </p>

<p>I don't really care what they call themselves but it's nice to be able to get a handfull of parts, overpriced or not.</p>
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Kathy Moore / February 24, 2006 at 02:27 pm
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I remember the very first Radio Shack store. It was on Sherbrooke Street West in N.D.G. (Notre-Dame-de-Grace) in Montreal, south-west side near the corner of Hampton.

I am 53 now, I was a young child when this first Radio Shack store was launched in a basement facing Sherbrooke Street. I had been raised in the heydey of the big department stores, when "La Baie" on St. Catherine at Union was actually called "Morgan's" and we still had Eaton's and Simpson's, too. Radio Shack's being the first specialty store, I viewed it with suspicion. My grandmother had taught me that you should always shop at department stores, they were there for the long-run and the guarantee was good even years after you purchased an item.

I was shocked a couple of weeks ago to see the big red Radio Shack fluorescent banner missing from the upstairs promenade in Alexis Nihon Plaza at Atwater in Montreal.

Here's a news bite on the Radio Shack story by Wikipedia:

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Shack";>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Shack<;/a>
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Gregor / April 18, 2006 at 03:39 am
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Very cool design! Useful information. Go on!
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