http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303442704579362870830018510
RadioShack to Close About 500 Stores Within Months Electronics Retailer, Advisers Continue to Work on Restructuring RadioShack Corp. RSH -5.24% is planning to close around 500 stores in the coming months as the electronics retailer continues working with advisers to restructure the company, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. It is unclear which of RadioShack's roughly 4,500 stores will be closed and when exactly the closings will begin, these people said, adding that it isn't unusual for companies to close stores when going through operational restructurings. In October, RadioShack secured $835 million in loans to refinance about $625 million of debt. Those funds, from a group led by GE Capital, also freed up cash for RadioShack's overhaul. The Fort Worth, Texas, retail chain has been working on transforming its image from an old-school electronics store into a destination for shoppers looking for entertainment gadgets, like headphones and smartphone cases. RadioShack advertised in Sunday evening's Super Bowl, with a commercial that poked fun at the company's outdated image with a collection of 1980s-era entertainment personalities. The ad, seen as one of the big winners in Super Bowl advertising Sunday night, generated positive reviews. The company's stock jumped more than 7% Monday morning. The retailer has struggled to reverse a string of losses deepened by a sales strategy focused around smartphones, which failed to improve revenue over the past two years. RadioShack executives last year suggested the company would resist downsizing its store footprint as they focused most of their attention on reinventing the brand's image. Stores might close in one section of a neighborhood to set up shop in more highly trafficked locales, but the number of outlets would stay the same, they had previously said. "I think we're a 4,000-plus network," RadioShack Chief Executive Joe Magnacca said in a November interview. "My job is to make sure that we've got the market covered." That was before the entire retail sector suffered a fiercely competitive holiday shopping season that eroded stores' margins while doing little to attract new foot traffic. In mid-January, RadioShack named Dollar General Corp. DG +0.58% executive John W. Feray as chief financial official, with plans to start this week. RadioShack's interim CFO Holly Etlin, from turnaround firm AlixPartners, will continue advising the company on its operational turnaround, according to a January statement from the company. _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews_etskywarn.net
