A  SeeMetrics  Partners’  Business  Case  

Why  RadioShack  Will  Die  Before  Its  

100th  Year  Anniversary  

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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.  

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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…  

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When  RadioShack  Was  Good  

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.      

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.  

They  Started  to  Play  it  Safe…  4  

Why  Safe  Will  Make  You  Sorry  

RadioShack  Became  Just  a  Follower…  

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.  

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Likes  Don’t  Equal  Profits  

RadioShack  Is  S6ll  Just  a  Follower…  

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  

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Innova6on  Drives  Growth  

Here  are  my  Top  3  innova6ve  ideas  to  the  Execu6ves  of  RadioShack  to  help  transform  RadioShack  …      

From  a  Follower  into  an  Innovator.  

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.      

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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.  

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Lead  don’t  Follow…  

Top  3  Innova6ve  Ideas  

Use   your   brick   and  mortar   loca6ons.     People  want   to   touch   and   be   able   to   be  with  other  people  to  learn.      

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.      

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Offer  Unique  and  Needed  Solu6ons…  

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  

Branding  Isn’t  Innova6ng  

From  Good  To  Gone.    

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  …  

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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.  

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