Will Radio Shack Be Opening New Stores In Maine & New Hampshire?

If you were a kid of the 80s and 90s, and you were not fortunate enough to live in a major city, there is a good chance that you (or your parents) bought most of your electronics devices from a Radio Shack store.

The electronics chain was known for selling everything from radios (it was called Radio Shack, after all), to answering machines, to Tandy personal computers.

In the mid-00s, as more big box chains started selling the most common electronics devices, and as online shopping became easier & quicker, we started to see Radio Shack stores close.  As it attempted to compete with Amazon and Best Buy, we saw the chain go through several bankruptcies.  By the time the last Radio Shack location in Central Maine closed, it had become a shadow of its former glory.

As The Street notes, it is important to understand that the brand never fully went away.  Not like some other popular retails chains of the 80s and 90s.

Even though most stores either transformed into a locally operated electronics store that had no real ties to Radio Shack, or they completely closed, there have always been a handful of the stores operating around the world.

The Street article also explains that an El Salvador company called Unicomer Group has taken control of the Radio Shack brand and that they have big plans to bring the brand back.  Part of their revitalization plans are online, including promoting an Amazon storefront.  But, they also plan to open new storefronts here in the United States.

And, since it does not seem that they are planning to concentrate on any specific markets, there is a good chance that we will see new Radio Shack stores opening in New England.

Of course, the big question is whether or not the chain will be able to make a comeback.  Even though personally I'd love to see Radio Shacks popping up everywhere (because they are nostalgic), we all have to be honest and admit that the retailers that caused them to start failing are still around.  And, in some cases, these retailers are even more powerful than they were when the chains started closing.

According to Malls In America, the closest Radio Shacks to Central Maine are in Rochester, New Hampshire and Beverly, Massachusetts.

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