In bankruptcy court this morning in Delaware, there was a hearing regarding RadioShack’s plan to offer tens of millions of pieces of customer data in its bankruptcy auction. The attorney general of the Shack’s home state of Texas objected to this sale, mostly because the company’s original privacy policy didn’t allow the company to sell customer data to just anyone. Now RadioShack has agreed to mediation after its intellectual property, including those mailing lists, is auctioned on May 11. [More]
radioshack bankruptcy
RadioShack Bankruptcy Trustee Wants Customer Mailing Lists Removed From Auction
By 4.24.15
Bankrupt RadioShack doesn’t have a lot of assets left that anyone might want, but one very marketable asset is its mailing lists. Specifically, 65 million names and addresses and 13 million e-mail addresses. In March, RadioShack said that it wouldn’t be selling that information…yet. Now that it’s time to sell off the former company’s intellectual property, all of that contact inforamtion is potentially for sale again. [More]
RadioShack Consumer Data Might Be Back Up For Auction
By 4.14.15
When the venerable electronics retailer RadioShack declared bankruptcy earlier this year and prepared to sell off its assets and its business, they quietly announced one item that was legally problematic but potentially lucrative: tens of millions of pieces of customer contact information that it has collected over the years. After the Attorney General of Texas objected to such a sale, the court was told that selling that information was off the table. Now it could be back on. [More]
RadioShack’s New Owners Don’t Really Care About Buying The RadioShack Name
By 4.13.15
RadioShack still exists. Well, stores that say “RadioShack” on them still exist, but those are a joint venture between the Shack’s new owners and Sprint. While the stores have kept their doors open, there’s one thing missing from the business plan: this new venture doesn’t own the RadioShack trademark yet. They aren’t too worried about it, though. [More]
Have A RadioShack Gift Card? You Have One More Day To Use It
By 3.30.15
We initially reported that people with RadioShack gift cards would have to use them up by March 5 or lose the entire balance. Great news if you happen to have found one buried in the far corner of your junk drawer: RadioShack has extended the period that they’re accepting gift cards to March 31. [More]
Salus Capital Claims Shenanigans In RadioShack Bankruptcy Auction
By 3.30.15
Last week, it seemed like the bankruptcy auction for what’s left of RadioShack would be pretty straightforward. Standard General, one of the chain’s biggest lenders, would put up a small amount of cash and a large amount of their own debt to take over about 1,700 stores. Another lender called shenanigans on the whole sale, offering a cash bid and claiming that it was superior. Now the auction enters week 2. [More]
Good News: RadioShack Says Consumer Information Isn’t Part Of Bankruptcy Auction
By 3.27.15
Earlier this week, we reported that the one of the assets of the former RadioShack empire up for sale is the tens of millions of names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses that the retailer has collected from its customers. Many states’ attorneys general objected to this possible sale, noting that it may violate Texas law and the company’s own privacy policies. Fortunately, that consumer data is not yet for sale. [More]
RadioShack’s Future Comes Down To Saving Jobs Or Raising Cash For Lenders
By 3.26.15
What is the purpose of auctioning off the assets of a company that has declared bankruptcy? Is it to keep some form of the company in business to keep workers employed, or is it to raise as much money as possible for creditors in order to make a dent in their losses? That’s the question in RadioShack’s bankruptcy auction. Bids are supposed to be finalized today, and there are two competing high bids: one that will keep a large number of stores open, and one that will raise cash for lenders. [More]
Now There’s A Bidding War For The Smoldering Remains Of RadioShack
By 3.25.15
Since RadioShack finally declared bankruptcy last month, the assumption has been that Standard General, a hedge fund that has lent the Shack large amounts of money for its failed comeback attempt, would win the bankruptcy auction. They would buy 1,700 or so of the stores that are left, along with RadioShack’s brand. Now a different lender has joined the bidding, but claims that the auction favors Standard General. [More]
Your Personal Data Could Be For Sale In RadioShack Bankruptcy Auction
By 3.24.15
Have you handed your name, address, e-mail address, or phone number over to RadioShack as part of a purchase or, inexplicably, when you returned an item that you bought with cash? As the bankruptcy auction of the smoldering remains of The Shack continues into its second day, we’ve learned that one of the assets for sale is RadioShack’s customer list, which includes more than 65 million mailing addresses and more than 13 million e-mail addresses. Update: The bankruptcy auction’s privacy ombudsman says that customer information isn’t for sale. Yet. [More]
RadioShack Buyer Plans To Donate Art And Company Archives
By 3.23.15
You probably don’t normally associate the phrases “valuable art collection” and “RadioShack,” but the headquarters building that opened just ten years ago has some lovely artwork, valued at $500,000 but possibly worth more at auction. Standard General, the presumed winner of the auction for the RadioShack brand and many of its stores, plans to donate these artworks and the corporate archives to local corporate institutions. [More]
AT&T Asked RadioShack To Destroy Customer And Proprietary Information
By 3.23.15
The auction for the smoldering remains of RadioShack is happening right now at the offices of the company’s attorneys in New York City, and something caught our attention while we wait for news about the winning bidders and future of the Shack and its stores and employees. AT&T has filed an objection to the proceedings in court, asking RadioShack to destroy any sensitive information about customers and AT&T itself. [More]
Only One Bidder For Radio Shack’s Remains Wants To Keep Any Stores Open
By 3.20.15
In the bankruptcy auction for the smoldering remains of RadioShack, only one bidder is interested in keeping the chain open as a business. That’s Standard General, which also happens to be the lender that bailed out the company last year in a last-minute attempt to save the business. [More]
RadioShack Franchisees Don’t Want Surprises In Corporate Bankruptcy
By 3.17.15 — Updated: 5.30.17
RadioShack has declared bankruptcy and plans to liquidate, closing or maybe continuing to exist in a co-branded venture with Sprint. However, there are about 700 RadioShack stores that are doing okay. These stores are dealers and franchisees, stores that carry RadioShack merchandise and perhaps their brand, but might sell other merchandise too. The bankruptcy of RadioShack has some terrible effects on these merchants, and they’re working together to make sure that they aren’t hurt as parts of RadioShack are sold off. [More]
RadioShack Selling Name Separately From Stores: Bids Start At $20 Million
By 2.25.15
In a bankruptcy auction, creditors want to extract as much money as they can from the company’s remaining assets that have any value. Recognizing that “Radio Shack” is a brand that people at least recognize, the company’s lawyers announced today in court that its name and intellectual property will sell separately from the store leases. [More]
Sale Of 1,100 Radio Shack Leases Approved
By 2.20.15
Hey, buddy. Want to rent an abandoned Radio Shack? The quasi-relevant electronics chain received approval from the bankruptcy court today to sell off 1,100 store leases. These stores are open for bidding by anyone interested in taking over the lease––in some locations, Radio Shack has already held store-closing sales and taken off so they won’t have to pay rent in March. [More]
RadioShack Proposes Up to $3 Million in Employee Bonuses To Bankruptcy Court
By 2.11.15
RadioShack isn’t going out of business forever (yet), but instead may live on as a brand in co-branded stores with mobile provider Sprint. the electronics chain is holding liquidation sales in many of the stores they’re working to close. Yet at the same time that the company is preparing to shut about half of their stores, they’ve sought permission from the bankruptcy court to pay out about $3 million in bonuses. [More]
Report: Amazon Wants To Buy Some RadioShack Stores, Too
By 2.3.15
RadioShack built its brand by creating a vast nationwide network of stores across the country: they still have 4,300 of them, which has been a significant burden for the company as it has struggled to stay relevant and make money. As the Shack prepares to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy, those stores are a tempting asset for other retailers looking to expand their retail footprints, like mobile carrier Sprint…and now Amazon. [More]
