
WARSAW — When Sprint refused to a renew a contract with General Wireless in March, RadioShack’s future at 2532 Walton Blvd., Warsaw was still unknown.
With little to no announcement, the business has closed their doors. For the local store, the last business day was Memorial Day, May 29, with the last of the product and fixtures being hauled out May 30. The company is still operating online at radioshack.com.
General Wireless, successor to the defunct RadioShack, filed bankruptcy on March 8 after weeks of speculation. It was the company’s second bankruptcy in two years, the first filed Feb. 5, 2015.
On March 31, 2015, American hedge fund Standard General’s affiliate General Wireless was granted a $160 million contract and gained ownership of 1,743 RadioShack locations. As part of the deal, the company entered into a partnership with Sprint, including its wireless brands Boost and Virgin Mobile.
With General Wireless filing bankruptcy, Sprint denied renewing a contract with the company. Roughly 400 RadioShack stores were closed and the remaining 1,300 were to be reevaluated. As of March 27, Sprint had abandoned the Warsaw RadioShack store and the employees were relocated to Plymouth.
Friday, May 26, RadioShack released a statement that went unseen by many, announcing that Memorial Day weekend were to be the final days for all but 70 corporate stores and 500 “dealers.”
“At the end of this month, RadioShack will be closing its doors at all but 70 retail store locations as we migrate to RadioShack.com and we cannot thank you, the RadioShack family, enough for sharing in the journey throughout the years,” stated the release.
There had been rumors amongst employees since March that May 31 would be the store’s final day unless RadioShack secured a business partner. RadioShack’s Twitter has been counting down the days and advertising the sale of fixtures and equipment like printers.
