"The Source" is actually owned by Circuit City, who bought Radio Shack's Canadian subsidiary (InterTAN) a number of years ago. Radio Shack doesn't currently have a retail presence in Canada.

AA batteries and stereo patch cords look so much better back-lit.

They are getting better - they have current -gen brand name units in the stores, which is a giant step up from their traditional ploy: asking a manufacturer to do one last factory run of some end-of-life unit, and supply the obligatory "RS", "Realistic", or "Optimus" badge to stick in place of RCA, Pioneer, etc on the assembly line.

The problem isn't that their name is "associated with budget shopping."

The problem is that they seem to train their employees by flogging them with a rubber hose for days until they transform into subhuman, bitter, rat-like demons. There's no place on earth that I can find such consistently angry, unhelpful, ignorant employees. Dumb & Mean, that's their motto.

After having sworn them off for years, I recently made the unfortunate decision to call a few Radio Shacks when I needed a little part in a hurry. Two different stores treated me exactly the same, like this:

RS: "R(mumble)skch.."
Me: "Hey, can you tell me if you've got a specific part in stock?
RS: [DEAD SILENCE]
Me: "Hello?"
RS: (ANGRY) "I'm listening!"

So if they remodel their stores, get shiny new tables and even a new name, it would still take a miracle to get me into one of those places. I don't blame any specific employee; it is clearly a company that has rotted from the top down.

Too bad. It was a pretty nice place to go some 20 years ago.

LOL. Radioshack sells commodity products, not products people would line up to buy.

So, if no one's going to line up, there should be no reason to try to upgrade?

The stores would appear in non-mall, upscale locations.

Radio Shack has stores in non-mall upscale locations?

on their store look, and will proceed to sue Radio Shack. Business as usual for Apple. Don't get me wrong, I love their products, but they have a tendency to be a little litigious.

that was to say "patent"

"So, if no one's going to line up, there should be no reason to try to upgrade?"

No, you obviously failed marketing at the community college. If your sales suck (ie, you have nothing that anyone wants to line up for), you make a change (like change your store name or layout or whatever), and hope people don't notice that you are the same POS store you were before.

In other words, the fact that you don't have anything to line up for IS THE VERY REASON YOU MAKE THE CHANGE. MBA types have to do something for their big coin and this kind of initiative makes it look like they are doing something.

You don't see Apple out totally rearranging their stores when they DO have something to line up for.