Skip to main content

After blowing millions on Super Bowl ad, RadioShack to close 500 stores

Radioshack closing
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Reported by the Wall Street Journal recently, electronics chain Radioshack plans to close more than 10 percent of U.S. locations due to an ongoing restructuring plan. This news broke approximately two days after RadioShack ran a 1-minute add during the Super Bowl which showed an older 1980’s style store being demolished by pop culture figures from the same decade. Beyond the production costs to hire all the popular figures in the commercial, Radioshack also had to pay exorbitant Super Bowl commercial pricing which ran approximately $4 million for a 30-second spot.

The Super Bowl commercial was designed to poke a bit of fun at Radioshack’s outdated image and unveil plans to redesign stores around the country. Characters and iconic figures featured in the spot included Cliff Clavin from Cheers, Hulk Hogan, Q-Bert, Alf, Michael J. Fox’s Teen Wolf, Chucky, Alf and Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton. The 1980’s characters are seen raiding the store of all the old technology, like VCR’s and CRT computer monitors, thus leaving RadioShack to debut the new store design at the end of the commercial. 

RadioShack management has yet to specify which 500 stores will be closed this year, but it’s likely that lower performing stores will be the targets. Prior to this point, executives had indicated that store closures would be strategic and each closed store would eventually be reopened in another location with greater foot traffic. However, it’s unclear if this strategy is still viable after debt restructuring during late 2013.

RadioShack management has attempted to turn the company around by focusing heavily on smartphone sales over the past two years, but that strategy has been fairly unsuccessful due to fierce competition with wireless carriers, big box stores and online retailers. Based off the commercial, it appears as if new RadioShack stores will focus heavily on mobile music accessories like Beats headphones and portable Bluetooth speakers. That being said, RadioShack’s recent weekly paper advertisements have continued to feature smartphones heavily.

Mike Flacy
By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…
AT&T just made it a lot easier to upgrade your phone
AT&T Storefront with logo.

Do you want to upgrade your phone more than once a year? What about three times a year? Are you on AT&T? If you answered yes to those questions, then AT&T’s new “Next Up Anytime” early upgrade program is made for you. With this add-on, you’ll be able to upgrade your phone three times a year for just $10 extra every month. It will be available starting July 16.

Currently, AT&T has its “Next Up” add-on, which has been available for the past several years. This program costs $6 extra per month and lets you upgrade by trading in your existing phone after at least half of it is paid off. But the new Next Up Anytime option gives you some more flexibility.

Read more
Motorola is selling unlocked smartphones for just $150 today
Someone holding the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024).

Have you been looking for phone deals but don’t want to spend a ton of money on flagship devices from Apple and Samsung? Have you ever considered investing in an unlocked Motorola? For a limited time, the company is offering a $100 markdown on the Motorola Moto G 5G. It can be yours for just $150, and your days and nights of phone-shopping will finally be over!

Why you should buy the Motorola Moto G 5G
Powered by the Snapdragon 480+ 5G CPU and 4GB of RAM, the Moto G delivers exceptional performance across the board. From UI navigation to apps, games, and camera functions, you can expect fast load times, next to no buffering, and smooth animations. You’ll also get up to 128GB of internal storage that you’ll be able to use for photos, videos, music, and any other mobile content you can store locally. 

Read more
The Nokia 3210 is the worst phone I’ve used in 2024
A person holding the Nokia 3210, showing the screen.

Where do I even start with the Nokia 3210? Not the original, which was one of the coolest phones to own back in a time when Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace wasn’t even a thing, but the latest 2024 reissue that has come along to save us all from digital overload, the horror of social media, and the endless distraction that is the modern smartphone.

Except behind this facade of marketing-friendly do-goodery hides a weapon of torture, a device so foul that I’d rather sit through multiple showings of Jar Jar Binks and the gang hopelessly trying to bring back the magic of A New Hope than use it.
The Nokia 3210 really is that bad

Read more