Fort Worth, Texas –
RadioShack will relinquish all 417 wireless kiosks it runs within Sam’s Club,
effective June 30.
RadioShack assumed
operation of the kiosks for Walmart’s warehouse club division from Wireless
Retail in 2004, and extended its contract by 13 months last February. The
in-store mobile shops will be re-assigned to Sam’s Club following a three-month
transition period beginning April 1.
RadioShack rents the
space from Sam’s Club, where it sells phones, accessories and plans by Sprint,
T-Mobile and Verizon. Barring any new agreement with Verizon before June 30,
the conclusion of the Sam’s Club contract will also mark the end of
RadioShack’s relationship with the nation’s No. 1 carrier.
In an 8-K report filed
last week with the Securities & Exchange Commission, RadioShack indicated
that the loss of its Sam’s Club footprint would be more than offset by the
rollout of mobile departments to some 1,450 Target stores by June 30.
RadioShack operated 850 of the wireless sections as of Dec. 31 and expects to
be in the majority of Target’s 1,752 stores by mid-2011.
