BCC NewsUS electronics retailer Radio Shack has said it plans to close 1,100 stores – nearly 20% of its total – in an attempt to turn around its fortunes.
The move comes as the firm reported a net loss of $400.2m (£240m) for 2013, up from $139.4m a year ago.
Radio Shack has been hurt by growing competition, not least from online stores, which has dented its sales.
The firm’s sales fell 10% last year, with revenue during the crucial holiday season fourth quarter down by 20%.
“Our fourth quarter financial results were driven by a holiday season characterized by lower store traffic, intense promotional activity particularly in consumer electronics, a very soft mobility marketplace and a few operational issues,” Joseph Magnacca, chief executive of Radio Shack, said in a statement.
Its shares fell as much as 19% in early trading in New York on Tuesday.
The firm’s stock has fallen by nearly 80% over the past two years.
Restructuring business
Hurt by slowing sales, the firm has been taking some steps to restructure its business.
These include revamping the assortment of products its carries and improving the efficiency of its operations.
The company said that as part of its plans it looked into the performance and sustainability of its stores over the past few months.
“We have undertaken a comprehensive review of our portfolio from many angles – location, area demographics, lease life and financial performance,” it said.
The firm added that it was looking to consolidate its store base “into fewer locations while maintaining a strong presence in each market”.
However, it did not disclose if the closure of stores would result in job losses.
Ya beat me on this one Paul.
Yes, I just wonder how many are going to be without a pay check now because of this. 🙁
RADIO SHACK
you’ve got questions
we’ve got batteries.
What a shit hole. they are getting what they deserve.
They stopped selling electronic components so the nerds stop going there.
Then they sold junky toys. Then they sold smart phones. Then they just decided to move a bunch of stores next to their competitors to strong arm them out of business (wal-mart style) Now they cant afford to pay employees. HA. they are like a pile of feces. even being close to them stinks.
Hey radio shack, here is an idea, sell idk RADIOS. Pizza hut didnt stop selling pizzas when the market changed. They just added new items like salad. If they started selling curry and had the name pizza hut they too might of had a hard time staying in business. Kids today dont even know what a radio is unless its called pandora.
When you ship all the middle class jobs overseas this isn’t surprising. A whole lot of stores are going to be shutting down as the politicians wait as long as they can for some of the 100 million people you have disenfranchised to die off in some storm drain or tent city. They are able to hold on to their wealth while sacrificing what once was beautiful families.