BYU-Hawaii students and faculty were unfazed when news came that RadioShack would be closing their doors. The nearly hundred-year-old retail chain is gearing up to shut down shops after a bankruptcy deal that would leave about half of its stores in the hands of Sprint Corporation, and close the rest, according to Bloomberg Business. Sprint would operate the locations under their own name, leaving RadioShack obsolete and nonexistent.“This is well overdue,” said Alex Milne, a sophomore from California studying business. “RadioShack hasn’t really kept up with the pace of technology and that’s probably one of the biggest reasons why they’re in this situation.”In a recent news release, Sprint stated the agreement would allow them to expand by approximately 1,750 stores. Sprint also stated the stores will exclusively sell mobile devices across Sprint’s brand as well as RadioShack products, services and accessories. “I’m hoping that this will create a better service for Sprint customers,” said Ivy Wade, a sophomore from Indiana studying graphic design.RadioShack has recently been trying to move away from their static image as a go-to electronic parts retailer. However, despite rebranding and various marketing strategies, CNET Magazine, a leader in tech product reviews and news, reported the corporation had to close up to 1,100 of their stores in 2014 because of underperformance.“I’m not surprised that they’re closing, I’m actually surprised that they’ve lasted this long,” said Professor Joshua Smith, a computer and information services professor at BYUH. “Why go to a store 30 minutes away when I can get the same things online and for cheaper.”The deal will mark the final action for a corporation that has been around since 1921 when it began as a mail-order retailer for amateur ham-radio operators and maritime officers, Bloomberg reported. RadioShack will begin their final round of sales at their various 1,700 locations this weekend, according to Wall Street Journal.Uploaded Feb. 16
Writer: Jared Roberts
