From 1940 to 1984, RadioShack was innovation leader. Most people don't know that. Most only see RadioShack as a dying brand. On the verge of its 100th Anniversary, Radio Shack is irrelevant. This is a case study on how RadioShack went from Good to Gone.

1. A
SeeMetrics
Partners’
Business
Case
Why
RadioShack
Will
Die
Before
Its
100th
Year
Anniversary
1

2. Introduc6on
I
read
Good
to
Great
by
Jim
Collins.
I
admire
the
companies
that
have
sustained
growth
over
many
consecu6ve
years
despite
the
economic
upheavals.
However,
Circuit
City
should
serve
as
a
warning
to
the
Good
company
RadioShack.
You
could
easily
go
from
Good
to
Gone
as
is
the
case
for
Circuit
City.
It
is
also
likely
the
case
for
RadioShack.
The
cause
…
A
Lack
of
Innova6on
When
RadioShack
stopped
being
first-­‐to-­‐market
in
anything
meaningful
let
alone
innova6ve,
RadioShack
went
from
good
to
‘me
too’
to
almost
gone.
2

3. When
RadioShack
Was
Good
Started
in
1919
(which
means
I
believe
the
company
will
be
gone
within
5
years),
RadioShack
was
oUen
at
the
leading
edge
of
new
technologies.
Don’t
believe
me?
Consider
this:
1947:
RadioShack
opens
the
first
audio
showroom
to
feature
speakers,
amplifiers,
turntables
and
phonograph
cartridges.
1959:
Tandy
Corp.
(RadioShack
has
previously
renamed
itself
Tandy
Corp.)
sells
its
first
Realis6c
CB
radio.
1972:
The
Company
sells
its
first
all-­‐electronic
calculator.
And
It
Goes
On…
3

4. When
RadioShack
Was
Good
1977:
RadioShack
introduces
the
first
mass-­‐marketed,
fully
assembled
personal
computer,
the
TRS-­‐80,
with
a
Level
II
BASIC
opera6ng
system
created
by
Bill
Gates.
The
TRS-­‐80
is
warmly
remembered
in
the
technology
community
to
this
day;
by
the
1980s,
RadioShack
comes
to
be
known
as
"the
biggest
name
in
lible
computers."
1983:
The
Company
introduces
the
"Model
100"
laptop,
the
first
of
its
kind
in
the
computer
industry.
1984:
RadioShack
sells
its
first
mobile
phone.
RadioShack
was
the
defini6on
of
an
innovator,
pushing
to
find
the
next
breakthrough
product
customers
wanted.
And
then
it
all
changed.
No
more
breakthroughs,
no
more
innova6on,
just
me
too’s.
RadioShack
shiUed
its
energies
from
innova6on
to
sustainment.
They
Started
to
Play
it
Safe…
4

5. Why
Safe
Will
Make
You
Sorry
RadioShack
grew
with
innova6ons
and
breakthrough
products,
which
abruptly
stopped
in
1984.
Milestones
aUer
1984
have
been
devoid
of
any
significant
innova6ons.
RadioShack
became
a
me-­‐too
store
“following”
electronic
consumer
trends.
With
the
launch
of
the
Super
Bowl
commercial
in
2014,
RadioShack
announced
to
the
world
they
were
making
big
changes.
They
made
fun
of
their
1980’s
look
as
if
there
was
something
wrong
with
their
stores
in
the
1980s.
There
was
nothing
wrong
with
their
stores
in
the
1980s.
The
problem
was
RadioShack
stopped
innova6ng
in
1984
and
they
are
s6ll
not
innova6ng.
RadioShack
Became
Just
a
Follower…
5

6. Likes
Don’t
Equal
Profits
As
of
September
8,
2014
RadioShack
2014
Super
Bowl
commercial
had
a
lot
of
views
and
likes
on
YouTube:
•
617,
158
Views
and
coun6ng
•
2,458
Thumbs
Ups
vs.
90
Thumbs
Down
They
claimed
they
were
back
to
their
innova6ve
ways.
But
where
was
the
innova6on?
How
are
they
different?
Where
are
the
breakthrough
products?
Aren’t
they
just
a
smaller
version
of
Best
Buy?
They
can
fool
themselves,
but
the
numbers
don’t
lie.
In
the
quarter
ending
June
30,
2014,
(four
months
aUer
their
Super
Bowl
commercial)
RadioShacks
reported
•
A
quarterly
revenues
decline
of
$111.7
MM
or
14%
•
An
opera6ng
loss
of
$80.1
MM
compared
to
a
loss
of
$10.3
MM
from
a
year
ago
RadioShack
Is
S6ll
Just
a
Follower…
6

7. Innova6on
Drives
Growth
Before
we
say
adieu
to
RadioShack
and
with
my
business
mind
wired
for
“winning
in
spite
of
everything”,
let
us
ask
ourselves,
“what
can
be
done
to
save
RadioShack
in
spite
of
all
of
the
challenges”?
The
answer
is
Innova6on.
The
Board,
CEO,
and
Execu6ve
Team
of
RadioShack
need
to
go
retro
and
rediscover
their
innova6on
soul
now
or
die.
They
need
to
get
out
of
the
“me-­‐too”
death
spiral
and
stop
following
trends.
They
need
to
stop
selling
only
what
customers
can
buy
elsewhere
more
conveniently.
Now,
I
will
be
the
first
to
admit
that
it
is
easy
to
cri6cize
and
much
harder
to
contribute.
Here
are
my
Top
3
innova6ve
ideas
to
the
Execu6ves
of
RadioShack
to
help
transform
RadioShack
…
From
a
Follower
into
an
Innovator.
7

8. Top
3
Innova6ve
Ideas
Idea
#1:
How
about
3D
prin;ng?
Why
not
put
a
3D
printer
in
every
store?
With
your
highly
technical
sales
people,
you
can
make
RadioShack
the
des6na6on
for
help
with
the
newest
technological
products?
Make
it
simple
for
anyone
to
come
in
and
learn
about,
feel,
touch,
create
things
with
your
3D
printers.
Why
haven’t
you
owned
the
3D
prin6ng
service
market?
Remember
Kinkos!
Apply
the
same
concept
to
3D
prin6ng.
8
Lead
don’t
Follow…

9. Top
3
Innova6ve
Ideas
Idea
#2:
Offer
“Create
your
website
for
$199
in
60
minutes
at
your
neighborhood
RadioShack”.
You
can
show
them
how.
Leverage
technological
advancements
and
apply
it
to
solve
real
world
problems
and
offer
things
people
need,
are
willing
to
pay
for,
and
can’t
easily
get
somewhere
else.
Use
your
brick
and
mortar
loca6ons.
People
want
to
touch
and
be
able
to
be
with
other
people
to
learn.
9
Offer
Unique
and
Needed
Solu6ons…

10. Top
3
Innova6ve
Ideas
Idea
#3:
Tap
into
the
knowledge
of
your
front
line
employees.
Put
in
place
at
each
storefront
an
employee
input
collec6on,
analysis
and
synthesis
to
uncover
opportuni6es
and
obstacles.
One
of
the
ques6ons
to
store
employees
should
be
“what
is
the
strangest
customer
request
you
got
today?”
Yes,
collect
this
daily
from
all
of
your
4000
stores
to
find
your
#3,
#4,
#5,
#6,…
innova6on.
Now,
flow
that
informa6on
back
to
your
customers
to
learn
more.
Use
the
power
of
your
employee
network
and
the
strengths
of
technology
to
collect,
learn,
and
refine.
The
innova6ve
ideas
are
all
around
us.
You
just
have
to
be
…
Willing
to
Tap
into
the
Collec6ve
Intelligence
10

11. Branding
Isn’t
Innova6ng
To
transform
RadioShack,
you
don’t
have
to
rebrand
to
be
“The
Shack”.
You
don’t
have
to
spend
millions
simply
renova6ng
stores,
you
need
to
have
real
innova6ons.
Stop
thinking
about
what
your
compe6tors
are
doing.
Stop
boohooing
about
economic
condi6ons.
Think
about
what
your
customers
will
want
and
be
able
to
pay
for
now
and
in
the
future.
Get
back
into
the
innova6ve
space
and
stop
riding
the
wave
that
is
dying.
Swim
out
a
lible
further
and
catch
a
new
wave.
The
Super
Bowl
commercial
mocks
how
the
80’s
want
their
store
back;
but
RadioShack
needs
to
learn
from
its
innova6ve
history
of
the
40’s,
50’s,
60’s,
70’s
and
80’s.
We
all
need
to
rediscover
the
innova6on
gene
for
the
21st
century
or
become
a
footnote
of
a
company
that
was
once
something
special.
Never
forgot,
without
innova6ons
it
is
easy
to
go
…
From
Good
To
Gone.
11

12. About
SeeMetrics
Partners
Why RadioShack Will Die Before Its
100th Year Anniversary
Author:
Bahaa
Moukadam,
CEO
SeeMetrics
Partners
Bahaa
Moukadam
is
a
successful
turn-­‐around
consultant
and
execu6ve
leadership
and
development
coach.
Bahaa
specializes
in
helping
execu6ves
close
the
gap
between
strategy
and
results.
12