• approximately 4,400 company-operated stores;
  
• 1,400 dealer outlets;
  
• nearly 700 wireless phone kiosks throughout the U.S.;
  
• a footprint of approximately 2,500 square feet in an average store;
  
• a majority of its stores located in strip shopping centers in suburban markets that exceed 500,000 people; and
  
• approximately 200 company-operated stores in Mexico.

Started on a Shoestring
The story of RadioShack begins in 1919 in Fort Worth, Texas, with a chance meeting of two friends, Norton Hinckley and Dave L. Tandy (1889-1966). During their visit, these ambitious young fellows decided to pool their resources and go into business together. Their venture, which the two gentlemen named the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company, sold leather shoe parts (soles, heels and shoelaces) to shoe repair shops in the Fort Worth area.

Although the partners had no way of knowing it at the time, their humble beginning would evolve into RadioShack Corporation – a multifaceted, multibillion dollar company, and one of the nation's largest retailers of consumer electronics.

The First RadioShack Store
Two years later and half a continent away, two brothers, Theodore and Milton Deutschmann, opened a one-store retail and mail-order operation in the heart of downtown Boston. They chose the name, "RadioShack," which was a term for the small, wooden structure that housed a ship's radio equipment. The Deutschmanns thought the name was appropriate for a store that would supply the needs of radio officers aboard ships, as well as "ham" radio operators.

Beginning in 1921, RadioShack would grow to a handful of stores clustered in the Northeast, and become a leading electronics mail-order distributor to hobbyists. This is how it would remain until the company and a young Texan named Charles Tandy crossed paths four decades later.

Charles Tandy Joins the Family Business
Meanwhile, the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company grew modestly through the years. Although the company survived the Great Depression, it was nearly crippled when World War II began in 1941. Shoes were rationed – two pairs per adult per year – and leather for civilian use virtually disappeared.

Mr. Tandy's oldest son, Charles D. Tandy (1918-1978), while serving in the Navy during the war, observed how leathercraft was used as a therapeutic tool for patients in military hospitals and by servicemen in recreation and rehabilitation centers. He told his father that leathercraft was the way to steer the company during the war years – and to prepare for what he believed would be a healthy, new, post-war hobby market.

RadioShack employs a diverse workforce of more than 35,000 people. Our knowledgeable sales associates are committed to adding value to the in-store shopping experience by offering advice and helping customers choose the best technology solution to meet their needs. In the fourth annual National Retail Federation Foundation/American Express Customer Service Survey, RadioShack was named one of the top customer service retailers in the nation.

RadioShack, diversity development is not a program or a system. It is a way of life that represents a long-term investment in our future. We are committed to integrate diversity into our people programs and business practices, to consistently and fairly measure, assess and communicate our progress, and to build and grow a diverse workforce that reflects and supports the families, neighborhoods and communities we serve.