RadioShack today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and the company also announced that it’s struck a deal with Sprint to co-brand some of RadioShack’s current stores.
As part of the deal between Sprint, General Wireless Inc., and RadioShack, Sprint will co-brand around 1,750 RadioShack stores. These shops will exclusively sell Sprint mobile devices, along with RadioShack products and services. This will mean that Sprint will have its own little store inside of these 1,750 RadioShack stores that will occupy around one-third of the shop’s retail space.
“We’ve proven that our products and new offers drive traffic to stores, and this agreement would allow Sprint to grow branded distribution quickly and cost-effectively in prime locations,” Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure explained. “Sprint and RadioShack expect to benefit from operational efficiencies and by cross-marketing to each other’s customers.”
Sprint currently has around 1,100 stores, so if this deal is approved, the big yellow carrier will substantially increase its retail presence. That’s exciting news for Sprint, but today’s news is also kind of a bummer for folks that grew up with the RadioShack brand and went to the stores all the time to pick up new gadgets. Thanks to this deal with Sprint, though, at least a portion of RadioShack’s approximately 4,000 stores will stick around.
When was the last time that you visited a RadioShack?