What s up guys! It s Jason here and welcome to my YouTube channel, the Comeback of 2022
Insight! Once upon a time in electronic land before
there was Fry's Electronics, Best Buy, Circuit City, and finally, there was RadioShack. Found
in various malls, RadioShack carried a full array of batteries, resistors, adapters, latest
toys, answering machines, CD's, radios and cassette players. RadioShack also was one
of the first stores to offer computers (TRS-80) for sale. It was a "toy store" that enchanted
young and old alike through the Siren call of technology. You might have heard of the
bankruptcy of RadioShack but not know the full story well. One thing for sure though,
I ll bet you didn t know that RadioShack is coming back strong in 2022 but in a way you
might not have expected . Through cryptocurrency. In fact, the new slogan of RadioShack today?
Bringing cryptocurrency to the mainstream via a 100 year old brand embedded into the
global consciousness. Sound familiar? Well, sounds like WeWork s mission before the IPO
collapse, which was to elevate the world s consciousness. Today, we ll explore the Rise
and Fall of RadioShack and what will happen to RadioShack in 2022. Hint: RADIO crypto
tokens.
But before we begin, I need a quick favor from you. If you wouldn t mind just hitting
that LIKE button for the YouTube algorithm, I d appreciate it. As this is a brand-new
channel I started this year, it helps me out a ton and it allows me to continue to make
great videos like this! Thanks for doing that and now let us continue on with the RadioShack
Comeback of 2022.
RadioShack History
Three years ago, Company Man produced a video in response to the pressing question by many
of his viewers as to "What Happened to RadioShack? In that video, the history of RadioShack was
highlighted with its business birth in 1921. The video followed the electrified business
plan of RadioShack and ultimately took the viewer through the short-circuiting of its
company which created a negative experience for shopper and resulted in the subsequent
decline of the company.
The major reasons for its demise? Oddly, it was their primary focus on cell phones, aggressive
selling of calling plans and inattention to customers. And, of course the common evil
enemy the Internet.
In the day, RadioShack was so cool that even the heralding of customers to this wonderland
was electronic. One viewer, recalled as a youngster remembering the electronic "ding
dong."
[Kev please read the two quotes below]
However, to stay in business, it takes more than the appeal of "ding dong" to welcome
customers. It's all about profit. The last year that RadioShack realized a profit was
in 2011. From there on forward until recently, it has been a slow drain on their business
batteries. At the end of October 2014, quarterly reports indicated that the company was losing
a circuit breaking $1.1 million per day.
The first RadioShack Bankruptcy
On Feb 2015, RadioShack filed for Chapter 11. In March, Standard General brought to
the bargaining table a $160 million offer. The deal was a combination of extending credit
on debt that is owed and cash. This business deal kept 1,743 stores operational and saved
7,500 employment positions.
In May of 2015, the bankruptcy plan transferring RadioShack assets to General Wireless was
accepted in the amount of $26.2 million. After the air spraying was done to remove the dust
a new company by the name of General Wireless Operations emerged from the wire clippings
and fried resistors. It would appear that the name of the new company reflected RadioShack's
stubborn focus towards its commitment on cell phone sales. Subsequently they maintained
their affiliation with Sprint in the hopes of moving successfully on with the brand.
However, it was not a story that ended with "and they all lived happily ever after." Following
the bankruptcy court action RadioShack/General Wireless, like a red negative wire continued
to uncoil downward. Stay with me here the story gets more interesting.
RadioShack Bankruptcy Returns
In March of 2017, a second bankruptcy ensued. 200 physical locations of RadioShack were
completely gutted and all assets were liquidated. Included in this total sell-off were inventory,
supplies, fixtures from the store (probably including the chime announcements) and old
memorabilia.
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was finalized that same month. Of the 1,300 remaining stores,
several hundred were converted into Sprint only locations. By May of 2017 all stores
were closed with the exception of 70 corporate stores and RadioShack began to shift its business
model to conducting business strictly online.
Of course, when finances are involved people's emotions escalate and RadioShack was not without
controversy. In June 2017 the name brand RadioShack was put on the auctioning block. The sole
bidder was Kensington Capital which obtained the RadioShack brand in the amount of $15
million. In finalizing its partnership with General Wireless was the provision of General
Wireless retaining RadioShack's warehouse, e-commerce site, dealer network operations
and 28 stores. In July 2018, RadioShack developed a corporate partnership with HobbyTown USA
but things didn t go as planned. What a surprise
RadioShack for Sale Again
Unfortunately, like a case of recurring heart burn, in November 2020 RadioShack again was
up for sale along with its intellectual property and remaining operations. These operations
included about 400 independent authorized dealers about 80 HobbyTown USA affiliate stores
and its online sales operation. The total package was purchased by Retail Ecommerce
Ventures also known as REV.
The specifics and financial transactions or arrangements were not released in regards
to RadioShack being purchased by REV.
REV is a company that is based in Florida and its successful business model is to go
to the ICU of known brand names, purchase and revitalize dying or on life support retailers.
Some of the more well-known brands that had flat-lined and gone the way of the chiming
ding dong included Pier 1 Imports, Dress Barn, Linens n' Things to name a few.
An example of REV success is the Dress Barn brand. After being acquired Dress Barn grew
165% from quarter over quarter since the firm was re-launched on the Internet.
REV's operational model is dealing or specializing in trusted brands. Their mantra is and which
seems to be successful is that the brand you have heard of beats the one that you haven't
heard of.
Of additional benefit is that unlike other notable brands that they have purchased, RadioShack
already had an Internet presence. Therefore REV was able to begin immediately implementing
their specific business plan and model in providing resuscitation to RadioShack.
RadioShack in 2022.
Additionally, through RadioShack's rise, demise, rise, demise (broken record you know those
vinyl discs played on record players?), they have successfully managed to be around for
100 years as they celebrate their one-hundred birthday in 2021. RadioShack like their famous
battery seems to be able to be recharged effectively.
The question still remains how can RadioShack resonate with the younger consumers? REV maintains
that whatever was cool will be cool again. It's like a wardrobe closet with outdated
clothes. Wait a while and the fashion style will once again return. REV will utilize not
only the online platform but also offer RadioShack products through Amazon. Their business thinking
is that Amazon is like a virtual mall and RadioShack will be a presence in this virtual
mall as they once were in physical malls. Rather than Amazon perceived as a competitor
they will be one more venue to offer RadioShack products. So that s what they thought right?
The challenge, it also seems and understood by REV, is how to engage a generation that
have never, most likely, owned a radio nor had the exciting opportunity of turning the
tuning dial to find their favorite station. But, REV believes in brand recognition. They
also claim that the new younger consumers are also do-it-yourselfers and that is exactly
the products that RadioShack offers to the DIYers. So what s the solution? Well, REV
decided to do something completely different. The once popular brand associated with electronics
transformed into a crypto currency company. RadioShack s new mission is now "bringing
cryptocurrency to the mainstream" by creating a new protocol allowing everyone to more easily
use decentralized finance (DeFi). If You don t know what DEFI is, check out my other YouTube
Video, What is the Million Dollar NFT? (Decentralization & the Future). As their docs say, RadioShack
is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap and "cross the chasm" of mainstream usage for
Cryptocurrency
RADIO Tokens and Atlas USV
The Company is partnering with Atlas USV, which is a type of crypto protocol designed
to expand into multiple layers and applications that the Atlas community and partners can
build upon. USV is the token that Atlas uses. These tokens can be traded or stored (also
known as staking), where the owners of the token can earn rewards. The website says USV
rewards token holders offer staking at over 150% per year. The creators of USV are Alex
Mehr and the famous internet marketer, Tai Lopez. These are the same people behind REV.
It seems the guys over at REV were thinking what to do with these brands that they owned,
saw crypto taking off and decided, hey, let s use our brands to enter into the crypto
space. As said on the RadioShack website, RadioShack DeFi will start with a token swap.
We believe this is the lowest hanging fruit among the many defi opportunities. the RadioShack
swap liquidity is long-term or permanent. Since the liquidity pool is owned and not
rented, the protocol does not have to continuously mint rewards to incentivize liquidity. I read
the docs on the website that talk about the fundamentals, competitive edge and tokenomics
with the minting rewards. I must say, it s very interesting but difficult to understand.
I think it s something that one would have to try to see how it works. Will we be trading
RADIO tokens like how we trade Bitcoin and Ethereum? Only REV knows for sure.
RadioShack 2022 Conclusion
Sadly, shoppers will not be hearing the welcoming ding dong chime and alerting staff of their
entrance into a nostalgic visit to RadioShack. Maybe, though, the shopper can customize their
computer to sound the chiming welcoming sound as they enter the doors of the Internet to
shop online and trade crypto in the future. Do you think RadioShack will be bringing cryptocurrency
into the global consciousness? Or will the spiritual ambitions be turned in a permanently
Closed for Business sign? Let us know in the comments below.
So with that said, thank you so much for watching my video. There was a significant amount of
research, and reminiscing of RadioShack that went into making this video possible. If you
haven t seen already, check out my video on the Harley Davidson USA comeback of 2022 or
Is Kmart coming back in 2022? Those are my personal favorites on my channel. I highly
recommend both. As always, stay happy and healthy and stay tuned for another episode
of Company Insight next week.