Fort Worth, Texas –
RadioShack will begin carrying Apple’s iPhone, filling a critical void in its
mobility assortment and strategy.
The nation’s
largest wireless chain will start selling the 3G and 3Gs models in its New York
metro and Dallas-Fort Worth-area stores later this month, and will roll them
out to company-owned stores nationwide in 2010.
Apple’s iconic smartphone
had been off limits to RadioShack, which is building much of its go-forward
strategy around its mobility business. Mobile represents about a third of the
chain’s annual sales, and RadioShack has bolstered the operation in recent
months by adding T-Mobile to its carrier offering and Verizon to its
third-party kiosk business, which services Sam’s Club and more recently Target.
Although iPhone is
late to RadioShack’s lineup, the addition still lends it greater wireless
credibility, and parity with leading iPhone outlets Best Buy, Walmart, AT&T
and, of course, Apple.
RadioShack added
the announcement “iPhone 3Gs: Coming soon to select stores” on the home page of
its Web site.
