Abilene, Kan. – RadioShack will establish a retail presence in nine ALCO discount variety stores in October.
The move is part of a co-branding retail franchise agreement with ALCO parent Duckwall-ALCO, which operates 254 stores throughout the central U.S. The arrangement will allow ALCO to expand its CE assortment to include RadioShack’s brand and product lines, while creating a new channel opportunity for RadioShack in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and North Dakota, where the nine full-line stores are located.
The rollout follows a successful test of the concept at an ALCO store here, and will be followed by additional locations by year’s end.
“By co-branding with RadioShack, we are enticing customers to visit more frequently by having two brands they know and respect under one roof,” said Bruce Dale, president/CEO of Duckwall-ALCO Stores. “Our test program with RadioShack in our Abilene, Kan., store has been a huge success, and we saw electronics sales exceed expectations during the four-month test period.”
Paul Rickels, RadioShack’s dealer franchise VP, said, “This enables us to offer our broad line of consumer electronics to customers who otherwise might not have access to the latest products and technologies. Convenient store locations in neighborhoods across the country are a part of our heritage, and Duckwall-ALCO enables us to cost-effectively build on that tradition.”
Dale said if results follow those of the Abilene test, he expects the co-branding agreement to expand to additional ALCO stores in 2007.
