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Amazon Is in Talks to Buy RadioShack Stores, Report Says
- bastian 12y agoI'm pretty sure that Amazon will use the best positioned stores as forward stocking locations. They experimented with a similar concept at WebVan i believe. I also think they now realize that what Postmates and Instacart are doing today (using the city as a warehouse) is actually working and can be attractive to customers.
- baddox 12y agoMy initial impression is that Radio Shack stores are too small to be used primarily for stocking.
- AdamTReineke 12y agoThey're small but if you took Amazon's warehouse layout and Kiva robots, you'd get an incredible storage density. Coupled with lockers, pre-stocked with Amazon's top products, and staffed by one or two people, you'd have a pretty good system.
- pbreit 12y agoWouldn't one cheap warehouse in the city(ies) suffice?
- bastian 12y agoI can only talk about our (Postmates) experience but having multiple pickup and drop-off locations increases the efficiency of a fleet dramatically. In larger cities like New York, LA, etc. multiple warehouses are a huge advantage. Off course i'm mostly referring to on-demand or same day deliveries here. Maybe i should add some more color here. If you think in terms of traditional delivery, one warehouse is enough. But i'm not sure that this paradigm (one van drives to a warehouse, collects a bunch of stuff and delivers it), is what works best for on-demand, 2-hour or same day deliveries. Multiple, fast and easy to reach pickup locations are an advantage at scale. Especially for deliveries where minutes matter. Ultimately, we will probably see a combination of both.
- pbreit 12y agoProbably true but there's not much that needs to be delivered in less than a few hours.
- bastian 12y agoFiguring out if this statement is true or not, is very interesting indeed.
- CamperBob2 12y agoThat's a call that has to be made on the demand side. Some of us have a steady flow of overnight boxes coming in from DigiKey and Mouser containing, well, nothing very expensive or interesting to most people.
- vhost- 12y agoI wonder if this is their in for B&M stores. I can also see this as part of their plan to start shipping items before you even buy them. I click checkout and it tells me to just go pick up the item from Radio Shack on 6th and Weidler.
- chiph 12y agoWith their analytics, they could probably make a good guess as to what people living in a 5-mile radius of the store are likely to purchase. Which could make for some interesting juxtapositions on the shelves. Kitty litter next to Blu-ray movies, etc. But if it sells, it sells.
- xur17 12y agoI could also see it acting as a showroom for certain products that people want to be able to look at, handle, etc.
- VLM 12y agoLocally malls have transitioned from "sells everything" in the 80s to about 95% womens clothing, the food court, and that radio shack that just wont die. Being in the mall MIGHT be useful if amazon wants to expand its sales of womens clothes. I am not, as far as I know, a woman, but I could find it incredibly useful to go "somewhere" and get 3-D scanned / measured and then have a giant clustered database translate my exact physical measurements into this mfgrs idea of a "M" vs this mfgrs idea of a "L" or whatever. Not to mention shoes, where I'm about a 10.75 so 50/50 odds if a 11 fits me better than a 10.5, and some kind of "big data" might help. Money saved in return shipping alone might make it financially worthwhile for amazon to run a "scanning booth" store.
- jdhawk 12y agoThere was a German company that tried this using a webcam and a Compact Disc (for size reference). http://site.upcload.com/ http://site.upcload.com/ I still think the best solution is to measure the normal tailors measurements with a tape, upload them, and then have manufacturers upload the exact measurements of their clothing in corresponding areas. Crowdsourcing would allow people to mention wash shrinkage, and tolerance delta's for items. Be cool to say I'm X size, and this is my favorite shirt. Show me more that are of similar measurements. brb, going to start coding.
- chrisgd 12y agoSays RadioShack equity holders
- MilnerRoute 12y agoIt'd be easier for Amazon to sell Amazon smartphones if their customers could first actually hold one in their hands at the local mall.
- epaladin 12y agoWell, they're at AT&T stores, many of which are in mall, and it doesn't look like it's helped any.
- acgourley 12y agoLast time I was in an AT&T store the Fire wasn't even powered on. After using the UI I understood why.
- r00fus 12y agoLG only sells it's latest HBS900 headset at AT&T stores and when I visited, their only model was tied down to the table - no way for me to pick it up much less wear it before I was supposed to buy it.
- brianbreslin 12y agolast time I was in an AT&T store (december) the guy told me he had sold 2 Fire phones in 3 months.
- criley2 12y agoEh I doubt that the issue is brick and mortar representation. The worlds best selling smartphone family, Android, has next to no dedicated stores outside of a handful of Samsung and Sony experiences. It seems to me that the trick to getting more sales at network stores like AT&T is simply paying off AT&T to get it's representatives to push your product. Many buyers go in and ask for recommendations or allow network staff to drive them towards a product. In my experience, the rep will usually push people towards a Samsung flagship. When I visited my local official AT&T last summer, they were pushing A LOT of Samsung gear and didn't have much of anything to say about the latest LG G3 or HTC M8 refresh. They pushed the Samsung Gear watch but didn't have much to say about any other brand. Amazon would probably boost the sales of their devices much more strongly with some kind of sweetheart promotional deal with a network than they would trying to operate non-network smartphone stores. Who's going to go to an Amazon store to buy an Amazon phone? You go to your network store to look around at what's available. I could see the smartphones-in-store approach working if they get customers flying through the doors for other reasons (same day pick up, Amazon lockers, Prime-ready electronics show room, etc), and kept them in store long enough to look at phones.
- Spooky23 12y agoSounds fishy to me. Radio Shack tends to have old leases in 2nd tier shopping centers. Why would they buy a marginal retailer with poor footprint, when you could just lease stores yourself? There was a time when getting space in malls and strip shopping centers was tough. This isn't one of those times.
- eof 12y agoold leases = below market rate? they are already well distributed for ten zillion amazon lockers? it doesn't seem so far fetched to me; amazon being able to pick up a bunch of cheap space in fell swoop.
- ChuckMcM 12y agoThat is what I was thinking, a lot of Amazon lockers. And to be honest Radio has the 'components' space to itself in most places. I could see making it work if it was also connected to the giant hose that is Amazon's supply chain.
- libria 12y agoHaving used Amazon Lockers a lot, I don't really get it. If you don't want a package sitting on your doorstep all day, have it delivered to work. And Lockers has a maximum size limit that I hit every so often that negated that option. Having it show up at my desk is a lot more convenient. Now if I could return packages through Lockers, then I'd be game.
- hdctambien 12y agoSo, just have the UPS guy come to McDonalds to deliver your package while you're working? Not everyone works in an office...
- te0006 12y agoHere in Germany we have a nationwide network of those: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packstation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packstation like a 24/7 automated post office. Great for getting _and returning_ shipments not just from Amazon but from most any online merchant.
- mitchell_h 12y agoBloomberg is reporting that "THE SHACK!" is in talks to close half its stores and sell the rest to Sprint. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-02/radioshack-is-said-to-discuss-liquidation-as-part-of-sprint-deal http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-02/radioshack...
- dredmorbius 12y agoQuite possibly courting multiple suitors. Though if Sprint's the best counteroffer they've got, Amazon's going to walk all over this.
- VLM 12y agoPump n dump. There's a story on bloomberg that radioshack had been a target for months of leveraged buyout rumors in pump n dump schemes and now, finally, "woosh sound of relaxation" thats all over. LOL little optimistic, not done beating this dead horse yet.
- sushid 12y agoExcept for the small fact that the NYSE suspended trading on stock RSH yesterday?
- dragonwriter 12y agoPump and dump doesn't require that the stock be traded on an exchange -- the idea is to manipulate perception and, thereby, demand to improve the price you can sell at, which applies no matter what mechanism you are using to sell.
- sushid 12y agoRight, I'm aware of 1) what pump and dump is and 2) the fact that unlisted stocks can still be traded. But the reason the NYSE suspended trading is to prevent pump and dump amidst talks of a buyout with Sprint, Amazon, etc. It's much harder to do so with unlisted stocks...
- jessaustin 12y agoYou seem to be conceding the point? Or is the NYSE just wrong?
- dragonwriter 12y agoThe NYSE didn't suspend trading to limit the risk of pump and dump directly -- though that's probably among the reasons for their general policies on delisting. The NYSE suspended trading because RadioShack stated that it did not intend to present a business plan identifying how it would return to compliance with NYSE's minimum $50 million market cap requirement for listing. As is policy when that occurs, NYSE suspend trading and began the process for delisting the stock.
- Animats 12y agoThis makes little sense for Amazon. They have a huge product line. What items would they put in a retail outlet? Unless it's a desperate attempt to push their phone/tablet line.
- bhartzer 12y agoWould make sense for Amazon to do this, they could stock a limited inventory and expand their quick-delivery option for a limited set of products.
- potatolicious 12y agoNot to mention make an impressive and accessible demo-space for their increasing stake in devices and media (try Amazon Prime Video! try Kindle Fire!). It'd be a hell of a lot better than the neglected "demo" devices glued to a display in Best Buy they have right now.
- BendertheRobot 12y agoThis would mean sales tax in all 50 states for amazon purchases.
- iterati 12y agoExcept Delaware. No sales tax there.
- aaronbrethorst 12y agoThey currently collect sales tax in 24 states[1,2], and I'm guessing the writing is on the wall in the other 26. I don't know if there's any truth to this Radio Shack rumor, but I'd expect that avoiding tax nexus status probably isn't as big a deal for them as it used to be, because they're going to be forced to do soon, one way or another. [1] http://ilsr.org/rule/states-amazon-sales-tax-map/ http://ilsr.org/rule/states-amazon-sales-tax-map/ [2] http://blog.taxjar.com/michigan-sales-tax-nexus-law/ http://blog.taxjar.com/michigan-sales-tax-nexus-law/
- SomeCallMeTim 12y ago...and it would mean getting rid of the annoying Colorado-vs-Amazon lawsuit, and Amazon reinstating Colorado affiliates. And it would simplify my working arrangement (as an Amazon employee). Oh please oh please...
- CitizenKane 12y agoIt might, but Amazon has been slowly losing the sales tax fight [1]. I imagine they'll do this in phases or do it in places where they're likely to have sales tax levied on them in any case. For Amazon, getting faster and more convenient delivery might be worth the cost. It helps them in their fight against brick and mortar retailers, and if they're careful about it they could probably leverage a limited physical presence pretty well. 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_tax http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_tax
- schnevets 12y agoI'm sure Amazon is eying every struggling retailer the exact same way.
- pasbesoin 12y agoSo, AmAShack or Radiozon? I'm not sure I see the logic/advantage of taking over existing RadioShack locations as opposed to just making real estate decisions based upon Amazon's own requirements. A select subset of their stores might be quite select (and limited in number).
- johansch 12y agoPerhaps Amazon is looking to use these locations as pickup-up-places for shipped packages?
- tn13 12y agoThis is a good example of why we should let failed companies fail and let good companies then salvage the good assets. Imagine US government had taken over RadioShack to "protect the jobs" using taxpayers money and spent billions for a so called turnaround.
- 650REDHAIR 12y agoRadioShack is not comparable to Detroit.
- jessaustin 12y agoYeah unionized auto workers are far more valuable to politicians than part-time $9/hr people.
- derefr 12y agoThe entire voting population of a city [not] losing their jobs all at the same time is more valuable to a politician than a lot of things, really.
- dredmorbius 12y agoRadio Shack isn't 1) too big to fail and 2) doesn't have an entire ecosystem dependent on it (hobbyists included).
- jessaustin 12y ago"Too big to fail" is a term with only political meanings. Best not to let it cloud one's thinking.
- dredmorbius 12y agoNo, systemic risk and global financial collapse are not "only political". But that said, your assertion, your burden of proof. Convince me.
- blt 12y agoPlease, please, Amazon, leave 1/16 of the shelf space for electronic components! Pack them densely, don't offer customer support, and charge high prices. We need brick and mortar places to buy components. It might be worth a lot of goodwill from electronics tinkerers. Although I guess that's not a big enough group to matter, but who knows...
- derefr 12y agoYou know where I can buy a lot of common electronic components these days? Home Depot. Buildings are increasingly wired with various digital sensors, so electricians are increasingly in need of electronic this-and-that to couple them together. Sure, you can't build whole from-scratch circuits purely from hardware-store parts, but if you run out of resistors/pots/whatever, you can restock pretty cheaply in any town big enough to have professional electricians operating out of it. Also, I should probably point out that a lot of places (e.g. Best Buy) still do sell electronic components—they just sell combinations of them in lots and call the result a "hobbyist kit." It's much easier on their shelf space, and their employees, to just carry one SKU that you can point anyone looking for components at, which will give them most of what they might need. For all the other stuff (what you might think of as a "booster pack" to a hobbyist kit's "base pack"), there's no more economical way to get exactly what you want than ordering online anyway. Expecting there to be a store in every rural town carrying every random IC one might need for a project is just insane, when you can order a pull-sheet of them for $2 no matter where you are.
- WalterBright 12y agoOn the other hand, consider the chain store "Tacoma Screw" around here. They sell what you would expect - screws, nuts and bolts, of every description, type, grade, hardness, length, head, etc. It's a marvelous place for an engineer like me. The prices are, of course, high, but when I break a bolt or lose one for my car or other project, Tacoma Screw has an exact (or better) replacement. The hardware store sells bolts and nuts, too, but the selection is erratic and the quality is dubious. When I don't want my transmission falling off, I want top quality bolts guaranteed.
- e0m 12y agoI like the idea that one of the shipping options could be: "2 day shipping (free with Prime)" "1 day shipping $3.99" "Get off your butt and go get it yourself (closest 2 miles)"
- nacs 12y agoAlso by Amazon: * Delivery by bicycle * Drone-based delivery
- raycloyd 12y agoPerhaps Amazon Local could expand and extend as a storefront hub that connects with the city's businesses. Or maybe I just wish I could get local goods in Amazon's purchase model
- sosuke 12y agoOh no I sure hope not, the tax will be back and that is enough to move me to other sites in several cases. Edit: To clarify, no sales tax was one of the first things Amazon and other online retailers had on their side. They could sell things cheaper, even by a little, and the rest would be made up by not having to pay sales tax. If they have a presence in a state though they have to collect sales tax. If you buy a lot from Amazon it is kind of like taking a 8.5% pay cut in buying power. If you remember back in 1997-8 there were several bills popping up around it. My Google-fu is failing me, but this is a real issue. Amazon even discontinued the associates programs in some states to avoid taxes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_tax http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_tax
- GFK_of_xmaspast 12y agoPaying taxes is a civic duty.
- pests 12y agoAmazon already collects sales tax in 24 states as per your link.
- jabagawee 12y agoIIRC, aren't you supposed to calculate your owed taxes for your state and then pay when you filed? Of course not many people do this, and the IRS (or state equivalent) has no hope of enforcing this.
- scintill76 12y agoIn some states, "use tax" is due on goods or services bought out of the state and used in the state. I don't know how widespread it is, but I don't think there's a blanket law that applies over all the US.
- selimthegrim 12y agoIn Louisiana, they don't let you register your out of state car unless you pay use tax on it.
- 12y ago
- julianpye 12y agoScott Galloway talked about this at last week's DLD. You can hear his points and arguments at 6:50 -very insightful video on why Amazon has reached a point where they must make a brick and mortar acquisition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCvwCcEP74Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCvwCcEP74Q
- mhuffman 12y agoI would like to see Amazon Direct-to-Store pickup locations at all existing radioshacks. Do you hear me Amazon!
- CyberDildonics 12y agoThey should treat the stores as a cache for whatever people in the area order. If someone orders something, send two and put one in the store. That should make things interesting.
- DigitalSea 12y agoThis could be very interesting if it proves to be true. Seeing Amazon purchase Radioshack and then miraculously return it to its former glory and exclusively sell electronic components, hobbyist kits and stop selling things like TV and phones would be a move that I would wholeheartedly support as would my inner 7 year old self who has fond memories of going to Radioshack with my dad and buying a bag of LED's and various electronic components to build things. As a bonus they could use it to locally store popular items, use the stores as pick-up and drop-off zones (as the site suggests) and have a few computers consumers can come in and use to order directly off of Amazon. I would hate to see Radioshack die, it kind of makes me sad to think the brand could just vanish.
- kumarm 12y ago[exclusively sell electronic components, hobbyist kits and stop selling things like TV and phones ] So sell low margin products and leave out high margin products? How do you expect that to work for a business?
- cryptoz 12y agoTVs and phones are very low-margin products. Batteries are high margin products. I think the RadioShack cost for a 2-pack of AA batteries is about 5-20 cents, and they charge like 5 dollars, right? A TV or phone costing $500 to RS probably sells for $502. At least, that's how The Source works in Canada (former RadioShack). Telecom contracts, however, are high-margin, and they'll have to continue increase their mobile contracts significantly if they want to stay in business.
- hyperbovine 12y agoProfit has never been high on Amazon's list of priorities...
- chrischen 12y agoThey already sell electronic components, Arduino and Arduino accessories, multimeters, drones, etc. Almost all the Radioshacks in my city (San Francisco), and in my old city (Troy, MI), stock these things. What makes you think that's the strategy it has to employ to succeed? Because it is doing that, and it's not working. Normal people don't buy those things, and certainly a network of thousands of stores stocking resistors isn't a viable business when the small amount of hobbyists just go online.
- analog31 12y agoSo does a retail presence in every state mean that Amazon will pay sales tax?
- fnordfnordfnord 12y agoThe Sears & Roebuck dealer store (Smaller Sears stores in typically in rural locations) remade as an Amazon Prime depot/storefront?
- dredmorbius 12y agoPretty much exactly this. It's where the developing war between Amazon and Google starts to get interesting. Google's approach has been to work with existing brick-and-mortar stores via Google Shopping Express, which I suspect means tying into their ordering and inventory systems. That's also more-or-less an attack on IBM (which does a lot of SMB work as well). Google gets storefronts, merchandise, direct retail, and business knowledge, while Amazon's got to build that, but has a single unified shopping and logistics system. I'm not sure which is going to win, though I'm betting somewhat on Google.
- fubarred 12y agoBezos could refocus on DIY, hobbyists and maker culture... classes (or sponsorship thereof) would be a good direction to get the cash register filling. It's hard to compete with online, open-source, but there are some things people would pay for (and want) in-person.
- sidcool 12y agoI would be much more excited if Google bought it. Google lacks a physical presence that Apple has, and they need it.
- 7952 12y agoAmazon sells so many different things that it is difficult to find products within a particular niche. When you look for educational toys on Amazon you will not presented with electronic kits (for example) because mostly that is not what a generic customer wants. Even if you go looking for a particular niche it can be very tricky. There are lots of sites that sell the same products Amazon do but target a particular niche. A brand like RadioShack could use the Amazon backend and only expose a particular type of product that fits within the traditional RadioShack ethos.
- genopharmix 12y agoThis is a brilliant PR move.
- Shivetya 12y agoWould this be a precursor to their delivering items themselves? I wonder if it would allow them to effectively have mini warehouses which are just behind a convenient store front. Something like Amazon Basics, simple items Amazon users buy all the time just now in your neighborhood shopping center. Hell they could do shipping and receiving like UPS stores if they want. The possibilities are endless.
- harmonicon 12y agoI have always wanted Amazon to have a store so I can play with their kindle products before pulling the trigger. Hopefully this deal can make that happen.
- CPLX 12y agoAre you aware you can do exactly that at Best Buy?
- harmonicon 12y agoNo actually I don't. Haven't been to one in years. Thanks for the tip.