Minneapolis – Target has outsourced its mobile phone operation to
RadioShack.
According to a report in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business
Journal, the discount chain has tapped RadioShack subsidiary Kiosk Operations
to assume its wireless sales.
The subsidiary has already opened kiosks in about 100 Target
stores earlier this month in California, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New
Jersey, Texas and Washington, and the partners plan to roll them out to all
1,700 Target stores nationwide next year.
The kiosks are branded “Bullseye Mobile Solutions,” and are
manned by Kiosk Operations employees who are distinguished from Target sales
associates by their black, vs. red, shirts.
Target’s prepaid and post-paid wireless assortment is presently displayed
along a single aisle facing, and has no dedicated sales staff.
RadioShack also operates wireless kiosks for Sam’s Club, and
recently added Verizon Wireless to its kiosk carrier assortment, which also
includes AT&T, Sprint Nextel and more recently T-Mobile.
In other local retail news, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business
Journal also reports that Best Buy is looking to sub-lease 250,000 square feet
of its 1.5 million-square-foot headquarters complex in Richfield, Minn. The
newspaper quoted a confidential source who said a commercial real estate broker
is quietly marketing space in “Building D” on behalf of the retailer.
About 500 headquarters employees left the company in February
after accepting early buyouts.
