[DigitalSea]

This could be very interesting if it proves to be true. Seeing Amazon purchase Radioshack and then miraculously return it to its former glory and exclusively sell electronic components, hobbyist kits and stop selling things like TV and phones would be a move that I would wholeheartedly support as would my inner 7 year old self who has fond memories of going to Radioshack with my dad and buying a bag of LED's and various electronic components to build things.

As a bonus they could use it to locally store popular items, use the stores as pick-up and drop-off zones (as the site suggests) and have a few computers consumers can come in and use to order directly off of Amazon. I would hate to see Radioshack die, it kind of makes me sad to think the brand could just vanish.

[chrischen]

They already sell electronic components, Arduino and Arduino accessories, multimeters, drones, etc. Almost all the Radioshacks in my city (San Francisco), and in my old city (Troy, MI), stock these things.

What makes you think that's the strategy it has to employ to succeed? Because it is doing that, and it's not working. Normal people don't buy those things, and certainly a network of thousands of stores stocking resistors isn't a viable business when the small amount of hobbyists just go online.

[leoc]

> [...] certainly a network of thousands of stores stocking resistors isn't a viable business when the small amount of hobbyists just go online.

Maplin has been doing it in the UK (not one of the world's cozy retail markets) with apparent success. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8664813

[kumarm]

[exclusively sell electronic components, hobbyist kits and stop selling things like TV and phones ]

So sell low margin products and leave out high margin products? How do you expect that to work for a business?

[cryptoz]

TVs and phones are very low-margin products. Batteries are high margin products. I think the RadioShack cost for a 2-pack of AA batteries is about 5-20 cents, and they charge like 5 dollars, right? A TV or phone costing $500 to RS probably sells for $502. At least, that's how The Source works in Canada (former RadioShack).

Telecom contracts, however, are high-margin, and they'll have to continue increase their mobile contracts significantly if they want to stay in business.

[hyperbovine]

Profit has never been high on Amazon's list of priorities...