August 3rd, 2009
Radio Shack to rebrand as 'The Shack'; does it matter?
There are rumblings ’round the Internet that It’s official: Radio Shack, everyone’s favorite brick-and-mortar place to find a rare connector, is in the midst of rebranding itself as “The Shack.”
There have also been firsthand reports stating that signage will change to “The Shack” sometime later this year.
It’s unclear whether the move is a complete rebranding or a promotional move, but I’m placing my bet on a promotional move. The move recalls Circuit City’s push to rebrand some of its stores (signage, too) as “The City.” Clearly, that didn’t make up for a poor consumer experience and poor management on the business end.
I also don’t think the company would risk dropping its iconic R-in-a-circle logo, either.
As you can see in the above graphic, the company will christen the new name with launch events in San Francisco and New York — the Valley and the Alley, basically — this week. (Launch site here.)
Promo materials say “Our friends call us The Shack,” but that’s a bit of a stretch.
In fact, I haven’t found myself needing to go into a Radio Shack in many years, except for one brief trip to buy an overseas power converter/adapter. The problem to me: there’s nothing in a Radio Shack I can’t get elsewhere, except for the aforementioned cables and connectors.
Do you shop at Radio Shack?
Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
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| 08/03/09
