Fort Worth, Texas
– RadioShack company stores will once again offer Verizon Wireless service
after
in January 2006 for AT&T predecessor Cingular.
The electronics
chain also announced that it will drop T-Mobile, which it has blamed in the
past for weak wireless sales. In dropping T-Mobile, RadioShack also positioned
itself to withstand the loss of a major national carrier if the proposed merger
of AT&T and T-Mobile goes through.
RadioShack expects
to launch Verizon devices and prepaid and postpaid services beginning Sept. 15 in
its more than 4,300 U.S. company-operated stores and through its website,
.
The company will stop
selling T-Mobile wireless products and services in its company-operated stores on
Sept. 14, only about
two
years after it added T-Mobile
to its carrier roster.
RadioShack’s
carrier roster includes national carriers Sprint and AT&T.
RadioShack
president/CEO Jim Gooch called the development “a substantial win for our
customers, as this relationship with the nation’s largest wireless provider
will further enhance our position as a leading multi-carrier wireless retailer.”
The addition of Verizon “positions us to now offer the best assortment of
carriers, rate plans, devices and accessories for every consumer need,” he
said.
For its part, T-Mobile said it was the one doing the dropping and said it plans to sign up new retailers to more than double the number of RadioShack outlets that it lost.
“After careful consideration, we decided that to in order to increase the effectiveness of our retail network and in line with our sales strategy, T-Mobile will exit RadioShack retail locations, effective September 15, 2011,” the carrier said in a written statement.
“We are currently focused on higher-return national retailer opportunities, and we expect to announce new channel growth in the coming weeks, which will more than double the number of RadioShack doors currently offering T-Mobile products and services,” T-Mobile said.
