"The Shack" may be back!

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Lester
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"The Shack" may be back!

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Maker Faire: Mad science for the masses
Maker Faire mixes youthful enterprise with accessible tech. Now more than ever, it's kids doing the mad science.


http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Tec ... the-masses

RadioShack used to be a local hangout for young electronics geeks looking for parts or advice, but in recent years the company has pushed away from do-it-yourself projects and toward consumer electronics. Now, RadioShack has signaled a move back toward the DIY community, releasing a survey to ask makers what parts they'd like to see for sale. And this fall, all RadioShack stores will start stocking Arduino hardware, according to Amy Shineman, the retailer's director of consumer and product marketing. "We miss having the consumer group in our stores," she says. "We feel like they're an audience that is being underserved."
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Re: "The Shack" may be back!

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The Shack may be wising up to the fact that you can only super-serve the CELL PHONE market that much .. and with as nearly as many cell phone stores (hell I see them being sold now days in gas stations) ... that market can be only so much profitable to them...
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Re: "The Shack" may be back!

Post by lastone »

As I remember, radio shack started as a shack out back a guy's home selling Ham parts, thus the name. I don't know that selling parts would help them now. I needed a 'bow tie' FM antenna not long ago, something that was a constant at the Shack for decades.....not any more. At least they still have adaptors and plugs. But few people 'do there own thing' any more. Is the audience really underserved? Or none existant? :(
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Re: "The Shack" may be back!

Post by Hoosier Daddy »

lastone wrote:But few people 'do there own thing' any more. Is the audience really underserved? Or non existant? :(
That's what I wondered. How many people want breadboard kits or cheap, consumer-grade multimeters so they can fix something?
If you are in the market for that stuff, the internet is the best way to go.
Radio Shack's core customer group back in the day knew at least something about electronic theory and parts.
Nowadays, people just want the finished product in a box. Plug and play.
In my opinion, any specialty product or parts store can be done cheaper and better online. No need for a storefront.
The only survival plan for Radio Shack might be to become the ultimate destination for computers, CB and ham radios, TV antennas, police scanners, and the like.
A communications super store.
Go up against Best Buy, h.h. gregg and those guys -- minus the home appliances and whatnot.

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