RadioShack, the 94-year-old consumer electronic store company, today officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
As part of the filing, RadioShack will sell up to 2,400 stores to a subsidiary of Standard General LP, its biggest shareholder. Standard General has inked a deal with Sprint to create a “store within a store” concept at 1,750 RadioShack locations. Sprint said it will take up one-third of retail space at existing RadioShack stores to sell mobile devices and wireless plans. Sprint would also be the primary brand on storefronts and marketing material, however, the RadioShack brand will still remain relevant inside the stores.
“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 said in a statement. “Sprint and RadioShack expect to benefit from operational efficiencies and by cross-marketing to each other’s customers.”
Earlier reports noted Amazon’s interest in acquiring some of RadioShack’s stores both as a way to show off its hardware devices and act as a pickup and drop-off center for online customers, but that doesn’t appear to be happening.
RadioShack has seen its stock fall by 90 percent in the last year, as shares dipped to $0.24 last month before the company was suspended from the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.
