Charles Tandy bought Radio Shack for $300,000 and turned it into 7,000 stores
Charles Tandy, the mastermind behind Radio Shack
Charles Tandy built three retail empires — Tandy Leather, Pier 1 Imports, and Radio Shack — from a family leather business. When Radio Shack was $7 million in debt and bleeding $200,000 a month, an audit put its book value at zero, letting Tandy take control for a $300,000 advance. He closed the big stores, opened many small rented ones, dropped credit and catalogs, and had the chain profitable by 1966.
There are some delicate souls in the world who wilt at the first harsh words. Then there are others that you need to use a baseball bat to discuss things with. So I'd have to say that Charles had a dial setting for everybody.
- geerlingguy
Many fond memories of Radio Shack. I bought some electronics kits, a mini DJ setup, and many, many components there as a kid. At one time, they had quite a catalog of Radio Shack branded items that were "good but not great"... but more importantly available a few miles away within practically any city. Almost every mall in St. Louis had one (usually near a hobby train store or an arcade).
- delichon
> Since Tandy was a private company, his death would have forced a liquidation of the company in order to pay the inheritance taxes.
So much value is destroyed by this form of taxation. It's inherent in having to liquidate much wealth in a short period of time. There should be a way to match the time scales better, as opposed to forcing a company to go public. Like putting non-voting shares into escrow and allowing them to be sold over years or decades.
This would come with the loss of taxes as businesses go under, but at least some offsetting increase from successful businesses that are allowed to continue operating.
- GlibMonkeyDeath
I miss having a local place where I can buy a discrete transistor or capacitor.
But Radio Shack was also a pioneer in intrusive information gathering. They would always ask for your name and address at check-out, often practically insisting they couldn't complete the sale without it. I usually gave them "1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC" as my address. I hope Clinton and GWB liked those catalogs!
- mstudio
I wish the stores were still around. As a kid, I loved going through the bins of electronic components, trying to figure out how they'd all work together in a circuit. As an adult who just got his Ham Radio Technician license, I'd love to be able to drop by and grab a few parts instead of ordering online. Ham Radio Outlet is great, but they are few and far between.
- intothemild
Oh wow, it only just dawned on me now that Tandys in Australia was radio shack.