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.
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, “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, the agreement could expand to additional ALCO stores.
