Content about Consumer electronics

Everybody loves a turnaround story. RadioShack is betting that the now-former president of daily living products and solutions for Walgreens, Joe Magnacca, will help author a turnaround story of its own for the small-box consumer electronics retailer.

While a Web presence is a prerequisite to doing business in the 21st century, the fact that 77% of consumers are now using tablet computers or smartphones to shop is forcing retailers to rethink their digital strategies, according to a survey from online price comparison engine PriceGrabber. Realizing this is not a decision to be taken lightly, retailers need to take steps to ensure that mobility can be an opportunity, and not a threat, to their business.

Las Vegas -- Sales of consumer electronics fell 5.9% this past holiday season, as smartphones cannibalize sales of standalone gadgets like cameras, camcorders and GPS navigation devices, according to the NPD Group.

Electronics sales, including TVs and PCs, totaled $9.5 billion in the five weeks ending Dec. 24, NPD reported. Camcorder sales fell 43% and sales of digital picture frames were down 38%. GPS units decreased 33%. Television sales were down 4%, bolstered by sales of TVs bigger than 50 inches.

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. reported Tuesday that profit for the quarter ended Sept. 30 plummeted to $300,000, compared with earnings of $46 million in the year-ago period. The retailer cited the transition from T-Mobile offerings to Verizon Wireless as a major reason for the performance decline, although that was offset somewhat by new mobile service and sales centers in Target stores. The company launched Verizon Wireless in more than 4,400 stores on Sept. 15, as well as ramped up its Target Mobile centers rollout in the same period.

RadioShack has improved its hiring decisions chainwide with the use of a behavioral assessment solution. The Web-based solution is designed not only to make the overall hiring process more efficient, but also to improve performance and reduce turnover by helping to identify the candidate who is the best fit for a given position and is thus more likely to perform better on the job. 


Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. on Tuesday said its fourth-quarter net income fell by 25%, which was toward the low end of the company's already reduced guidance.

The company reported net income of $57 million in the October to December period, down from $75.7 million a year ago.

New York City -- RadioShack Corp. plans to almost double its presence in Target stores, where it operates wireless departments for the Minneapolis retailer, according to Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

RadioShack ran mobile departments in 850 Targets at the end of 2010, the report said, with the number expected to increase to approximately 1,450 Target stores by June 30.