I guess we can consider ourselves the lucky ones -- for now, anyway. Since Memorial Day, electronics store RadioShack has closed 1,000 company-owned stores, leaving only 72 still in operation in just seven states. Maryland has two of those.
For decades, the appeal of RadioShack was that they often had the little-known electronic cables, batteries, or equipment for those random projects your dad was working on, right? But in a world where all electronics and those hard-to-find incidental items are now easily found online, the electronics store (which has been around since 1921) has found it difficult to compete.
With the closing of 1,000 stores since May 29, the company's stores have dwindled from 7,300 stores in 1999 to just 72 stores today, of which Maryland has two:
Francis Scott Key Mall -- Frederick
Montgomery Mall -- Bethesda
Back in the day, RadioShack boasted that it had stores within a three-mile radius of 95 percent of American households. Now, in addition to Maryland, it only has company-owned stores remaining in Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Pennsylvania. There are still about 425 dealer-owned franchises operating under the RadioShack name.
RadioShack's parent company General Wireless Operations filed for bankruptcy in March, explaining it would leave approximately 70 stores open and embrace a primarily online business from here on out.
Lucky for us, two Maryland stores still exist at the moment. Even so, it might not be a bad idea for those old-fashioned tech junkies to learn how to order what they need online, and of course, wait for delivery.
(Featured image courtesy of
The Business Journals).