RadioShack faces uncertain future

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- RadioShack, the once go-to store for all things electronic, faces an uncertain future. The New York Stock Exchange delisted the company on Monday and the retail chain is in talks to sell half its stores and shut down the rest.

RadioShack, the once go-to store for nerds, faces an uncertain future. The retail chain is in talks to sell half its stores and shut down the rest.

From cables to hard-to-find components, RadioShack has it all. That was still the case for at least two men who came to a Palo Alto store, hoping to find parts for a project they're working on.

"We are into DIY stuff so we search for the best place to get equipment for us and we found RadioShack is the best place to get something for us," RadioShack customer Uday Akkraju said.

The nearly century-old retail chain is in talks and potential bidders include Amazon, Sprint and Brookstone. Possible scenarios include operating under the name of the company that buys them or co-branding the stores.

In either case, a good chunk of the chain's 4,000 stores will likely shut down.

"Geeks like me loved the place because you could go in there and get one of anything you needed," tech analyst Larry Magid said.

Magid says while RadioShack still appeals to those do-it-yourselfers, the retailer expanded over the years to include more packaged goods and consumer electronics, a move that ultimately proved unsuccessful.

RadioShack hasn't made a profit in more two years.

"I think they lost their niche so to speak, that niche of the place that hobbyists could go, once was fine for Radio Shack, but it really became kind of a consumer electronics store in a very crowded field," Magid said.

Since talks have begun, RadioShack employees have been instructed to ship inventory to other stores and slash prices on everything else.