You've got questions, RadioShack still has answers. But the company will now be known simply as "The Shack," as the retailer seeks to breathe new life into a stale brand.
To get out the message, the Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer Monday said it will host "Netogether," a three-day event in New York City's Times Square and San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza, later this week.
"When a brand becomes a friend, it often gets a nickname -- take FedEx or Coke, for example," said Lee Applbaum, RadioShack's chief marketing officer, in a statement. "This creative is not about changing our name. Rather, we're contemporizing the way we want people to think about our brand."
The move coincides with RadioShack's addition of T-Mobile to its lineup of wireless carriers as part of its strategy to increase its share in the mobile device market. The retailer also sells mobile phones and calling plans from Palm, Research In Motion and Sprint-Nextel. Other electronic products are sold in the company's 4,500 stores or through its online site, such as GPS receivers, digital music players, laptops, digital cameras and TVs and gaming devices.
RadioShack has come a long way since it was owned by Tandy back in the early '60s to mid-70s, when it primarily sold CBs, radar detectors, stereo equipment, the first mass-produced personal computer, the TRS-80, and, of course, radios. And if you're still nostalgic about the company's Realistic products, you can find them -- cassette recorders, amps, transistor radios, receivers and walkie talkies -- on eBay.
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