Good News for Canadians

[cj]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050505/dath110.html?.v=1

RadioShack Forms Subsidiary to Oversee Canada Expansion
Thursday May 5, 6:50 pm ET
Company Vows Canadian Customers Will Soon Have Access to New Company and Dealer-Owned RadioShack Stores

FORT WORTH, Texas, May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH - News) today announced it is forming a Canadian subsidiary to oversee the expansion of its chain of specialty consumer electronics stores in Canada as part of the company's planned North American expansion strategy.
"I have one thing to say to our Canadian customers: RadioShack will continue to be there to service your consumer electronics needs," said David Edmondson, president and CEO-elect of RadioShack Corporation. "For more than 35 years, RadioShack has been a household name to Canadians, and that's why we fought so hard to protect our brand. The loyalty and trust our customers place in us has made our name one of the most powerful brands in North America."

The announcement comes on the heels of a March 2005 court ruling in favor of RadioShack voiding a licensing agreement by InterTan Canada Ltd, which is now owned by Circuit City. The ruling prohibits Circuit City from using the RadioShack name in Canada or sub-licensing the RadioShack name to its independent dealers past June 2005. As such, Circuit City announced last week it is relinquishing the RadioShack name at almost 900 stores in Canada in favor of a new, untested brand.

Edmondson said RadioShack has been exploring several options in Canada since winning its lawsuit against InterTan and Circuit City. He expects the company to have upward of 20-30 company-owned stores operating in Canada by the end of the year, and that most of those will be in the Toronto area. He also said the company is extending offers to existing independent Canadian RadioShack dealers who wish to continue operating under the company's powerful brand name and infrastructure after June.

"We are committed to using our unparalleled global sourcing and strengthened distribution network to continue serving customers with innovative, leading-edge consumer technology supported by our unmatched, knowledgeable service associates," Edmondson said. "We will also bring renewed energy and focus with a fresh approach and better differentiation to improve the relevance of our brand to customers in North America. This includes the introduction of our popular new 'Best to Shop' concept store format into Canada for the first time to provide a fresh and exciting new look and feel for our customers."

According to Edmondson, the new concept store format varies from the classic RadioShack store in that it offers a fresh new look with brighter colors, enhanced lighting, attractive graphics, contemporary and moveable fixtures, wider isles, easier-to-locate merchandise, interactive displays, a more centralized check out process for enhanced speed and service and, in most cases, more useable square footage per store. The new store format is already found in more than 500 United States stores and is being aggressively rolled out across the country.

[betty.k]

cool, that should shut up those whining maple suckers!

[mod_o_matic]

Sadly thats sad news for me....

Maple syrup is the shitz and you don't suck a liquid...