RadioShack Back to Reality: No Buyer and on Its Own

Retail

Published: July 16, 2013 11:00 am

The old saying is no pain, no gain. Unfortunately for RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) the saying for its investors and anyone associated with the company has been “Pain, and more pain!” RadioShack’s new CEO Joe Magnacca made his case on CNBC this morning, and yesterday’s gains and this morning’s gains have been mostly taken back by the market gods as reality sets in that the hype was merely hope.

CNBC interviewed Magnacca at one of RadioShack’s new concept stores in New York City as a part of its turnaround plan. Be advised that the company is selling itself as a big turnaround but not at all as a merger and acquisition candidate. In fact, Joe Magnacca killed any buyout rumors on Tuesday.

When asked if the company was really just positioning itself for a buyout, Magnacca said, “That’s not the case at all, … I was brought in here to help transform this business. The team I am putting in place is focused on rebuilding RadioShack.” He went on to call RadioShack a brand that has lost its way, and his focus is to bring back the lost generations of customers into the stores again.

We are still not convinced that Magnacca was the right guy for the job. His background has mostly been in the pharmacy retail business. Maybe RadioShack has ambitions of opening in-store pharmacies.

Other highlights made by the CEO include that RadioShack’s balance sheet is strong and that it can make its coming debt payment entirely in cash. Shareholders and speculators are wishing that they might have paid more attention to our doubts yesterday. RadioShack shares are now down almost 3% at $3.08, and all of that crazy call option buying seen on Monday has now evaporated into thin air.

RadioShack is one of those brands that has moved from troubled to being at-risk. It is conceivable that the company could even implode if its concept stores and new redesigns do not recapture the souls of shoppers. Unfortunately, the trends and product cycles have migrated away from RadioShack.

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