[GreenKeys] Radio Shack Catalogs on-line

[COURYHOUSE at aol.com]

Tandy's Money Machine: How Charles Tandy  Built Radio Shack into the 
World's Largest Electronics Chain
by - Farman,  Irvin
 
great book tells the   story!
 
 
ed sharpe archivist for  smecc  ww.smecc.org 

 
 
In a message dated 3/3/2013 4:22:15 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,  
bill at blcain.com writes:

I was a  store manager for Radio Shack back in Falls Church, VA. when 
they bought  Allied Radio. They spent tons and tons of money converting 
all their  stores and brand names to "Allied Radio Shack", changing the 
names on all  the store fronts and in advertising. Very little of their 
electronics kept  the "Realistic" brand name. Most everything was renamed 
"Allied Radio  Shack" or ARS (that was what replaced the Realistic logo 
on the  gear.)
Most of the stores were not allowed to carry any of the Allied  inventory 
but they all had a catalog order desk for the Allied line. As a  store 
manager, you could go to the regional warehouse and pick up  customers 
orders. A lot of us even picked up some of the Allied gear for  stock in 
our stores much to the dislike of our district managers.
It  was not too long after all the money and time spent to do the 
conversion  that the fair trade commission stepped in and said that 
"Number one cannot  buy number two" because it was unfair. At the time 
Radio Shack was the  number one in home electronics and Allied was number 
two. It would have  been OK had Allied bought Radio Shack tho.
So, tons and tons of money  later, all was converted back to plain old 
Radio Shack and Realistic and  the Allied line was removed for good.
I still have an old Allied Radio  Shack catalog somewhere in my 
collection of "dumb stuff to keep". Even had  a few ARS receivers at one 
time. Wish I still did.
I don't think Radio  Shack would rank very high in the top100+ 
electronics stores any more. I  don't like going into some of them 
because of the IQ of the people they  hire.
They used to be the place to go if you needed parts. They had 1000's  of 
small parts you could not find anywhere else. Not any more!
There  used to be a Tandy Leather store next door to almost all the 
Shacks. I  don't think Tandy Leather exists anymore. Great little hobby 
store.
I  think it started out as a privately owned store that catered to the 
Ham  world in Long Beach, Ca. Could be wrong here but that was the first 
Radio  Shack I remember going in to and I do remember that it was not a 
"company"  store of any kind.
How times have changed...sometimes for the  worse.

Bill Cain

On 3/3/2013 11:12 AM, Don Robert House  wrote:
> Too bad they do not include Allied Radio and their  Knight-Kits...
> TANDY, a hobby company, bought Allied and then  converted the stores to 
> Radio Shack.
> However Allied  Electronics is now a competitor to Mouser, so things 
> get  complicated.
>
> Don, K9TTY
> Ringwood,  Illinois
>
>
>  http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/
>
>
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-- 
"Any man who thinks he  can be happy and prosperous by letting the 
Government take care of him  better take a closer look at the American 
Indian!" ~ Henry  Ford
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