[Elecraft] Radio Shack Inc

[Phil Wheeler]

All that notwithstanding, Mike, I'm not speaking of one store but five.

There is a move to put things into cabinets, but many part number 
sequences are not within the range shown on the labels.

I looked for several specific parts by number in five stores (e.g., a 
6-pin male mini-DIN connector) last week.  Not one of the five had one; 
nor could any of them commit to ever having one.  All managers were 
decidedly uneasy when I asked if after "cabinetization" they would have 
all the items they have had until now.  One admitted that they would not.

But time will tell.

73, Phil

Mike McCoy wrote:

>I very seriously doubt RS will quit carrying components and other bits of
>interest to the hobbiest. I managed a RS store until about 2 months ago (I
>decided retail was not for me) and there is GREAT corporate
>pressure/emphasis on 'PB&A' (parts, batteries & accessories) sales because
>that is where the (virtually only) margin is. To the degree there are
>specific tracking reports for these items.
>
>If the store is low/running out of stuff it's because the manager isn't
>keeping up with his/her inventory. True, inventory is automatically shipped
>weekly based on sales/inventory levels but bottom line it is the managers
>responsibility to make sure it happens. Beyond what they automatically sent
>me I used to manually order about $2-4000/wk JUST in PB&A to maintain min
>inventory levels for what Ft Worth missed.
>
>OTOH, RS is also trying to become less a 'nerdy' store, trying to attract
>females and 'X gen' customers that currently shop at the BestBuys, Computer
>Cities, etc. So you will see the 'bits & pieces' come off the wall pegs and
>relegated to parts cabinets, etc. to free up the more visible (valuable)
>'shopping wall' space for consumer electronics like the olympus cameras. The
>theory being when a hobbiest comes into RS they pretty much know what they
>want and/or are looking for whereas the housewife wants/needs the visual
>stimulus to 'shop'.
>