RadioShack Decline Belies Its Longevity

By Fort Worth Star-telegram

Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014, 9:00 p.m.

FORT WORTH, TX — During nearly a century in retailing, RadioShack has reinvented itself time and again as the American consumer moved from primitive radio kits to ever-sophisticated audio equipment, CB radios, and computers and wireless phones.

But now the Fort Worth-based consumer electronics pioneer finds itself tethered to a bygone era, with its 4,000 company-owned stores as much a burden as a benefit, its website delivering only modest returns in this cyber age and competitors — from behemoths such as Amazon.com and Wal-Mart to wireless providers — attacking on all fronts. The company warned recently that bankruptcy could be near if it can’t secure financing.

Just nine years ago, RadioShack enthusiastically opened its new $200 million headquarters, a complex of 900,000 square feet situated majestically on 38 acres on the banks of the Trinity River. With a 500-seat cafe, an open floor plan and a fitness center, it was supposed to help propel the chain to greater entrepreneurial heights.

Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/6848703-74/radioshack-stores-company#ixzz3Ej79tvLU
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Sears Closing Store At Century III Mall In West Mifflin

Map of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Sears store at Century III Mall is slated to close in early December.

A spokesman for Sears Holdings in Illinois said a liquidation sale is scheduled to start Friday.

“Store closures are part of a series of actions we’re taking to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” said Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications for Sears Holdings, in an email.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2014/09/22/Sears-closing-store-at-Century-III-Mall-in-West-Mifflin-Pittsburgh/stories/201409220183

‘Doc-In-A-Box’ Centers On Rise For Urgent Care

Temple University logo (no text, “T” only) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Only a week after Shannon Cropper first noticed Temple University‘s cherry-and-white “T” on a ReadyCare Center at the Pavilion in Jenkintown, he found himself sitting in an examination room there with his 9-year-old daughter, Kennedy, who had tumbled off her bicycle and twisted her ankle.

“I’m having a hard time walking on it,” Kennedy said as she rested the injured joint on her father’s lap.

Just 45 minutes after entering the ReadyCare’s bright waiting room, Kennedy had had her vital signs taken, been examined by a doctor, and had her swollen ankle X-rayed.  Father and daughter were now waiting for a radiologist a few miles down the road at Temple University Hospital to read the film.

“It’s well-organized,” Cropper said of ReadyCare, one of a growing number of urgent-care centers set up by hospitals like Temple. “My first impression is that this is amazing.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20130602__Doc-in-a-box__centers_on_rise_for_urgent_care.html#uUgTPq9FCI56bmds.99

Clipper Magazine Lays Off 40

Clipper Magazine laid off 40 of the 600 employees at its Mountville headquarters Thursday, a company spokesperson said.

“Our business model has changed a little bit, and our efficiency has increased. So we eliminated positions we no longer need,” the spokesperson said.

The affected positions were in art production and sales support. New technology was one factor in the need for fewer people, the spokesperson said. The second and more significant factor was a change in how some markets are being served.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/575986_Clipper-Magazine-lays-off-40.html#ixzz1kikiyfBX