RadioShack: 12 Years of Profit, Then Two Bankruptcies in Two Years

RadioShack made a profit every year from 2000 to 2011, and in 2005 it took in $5.08 billion from 7,460 locations. Then the mobile and online era squeezed its small stores between Best Buy and Amazon. Years of cost cutting under Julian Day closed about 500 stores and cut payroll, but never gave customers a new reason to visit. By 2013 it lost $400.2 million, lenders blocked a plan to close 1,100 stores, and in February 2015 it filed for Chapter 11 with $1.39 billion of liabilities. Its rescuer went bankrupt in 2017. Here is the full rise and ruin, told with charts from its SEC filings, plus the lessons for business owners. 0:00 Intro 1:01 Part 1: The rise 2:02 Part 2: The cost cutter 3:20 Part 3: The cracks 4:59 Part 4: The fall 8:39 Why RadioShack really failed 9:31 Lessons for your business SOURCES (all charts and timelines are our own, made from these): SEC EDGAR: RadioShack Corp Form 10-K for fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2013 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/96... SEC EDGAR: RadioShack Corp Form 10-K for fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2008 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/00... SEC EDGAR: RadioShack Corp Form 10-K for fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2004 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/00... SEC EDGAR: RadioShack Corp Form 10-Q for quarter ended Nov 1, 2014 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/00... SEC EDGAR: RadioShack Corp Form 8-K (Chapter 11 filing, DIP financing, asset purchase agreement) https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/00... Wikipedia: RadioShack (pointer only) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RadioShack UC Berkeley Law, The Network: RadioShack filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection https://sites.law.berkeley.edu/thenetwork/... Fox News: RadioShack closing 1,100 stores after bad holiday season https://foxnews.com/world/radioshack-closi... PlanSponsor: RadioShack issues emailed layoff notices https://www.plansponsor.com/radioshack-iss... D CEO (D Magazine): RadioShack's one-dimensional CEO Julian Day https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-c... Massachusetts Attorney General: AG Healey announces settlement with RadioShack over the sale of customer data https://www.mass.gov/news/ag-healey-announ... Fortune (Reuters): Shoppers' personal info not part of RadioShack sale https://fortune.com/2015/03/26/shoppers-pe... Fortune (Reuters): RadioShack can sell 1,740 stores https://www.fortune.com/2015/03/31/radiosh... Fortune: RadioShack files for bankruptcy again https://fortune.com/2017/03/08/radioshack-... Phone Scoop: Judge approves sale of RadioShack stores https://www.phonescoop.com/articles/articl... Figures are in nominal US dollars unless stated, and come from the filings and reports above. Some series mix restated years; see the sources for detail. This video is commentary and education, not financial advice. Narration uses an AI voice. #RadioShack #BusinessHistory #RiseAndRuin