41 replies to this topic

[John T Roberts]

Here are some pictures in which to judge the building. I have taken both day and night photographs.

Overall from the Trinity River:


Main Entrance by day:


Office building and water wall by day:


Fountains by day:


RadioShack's garage does not look much like one from Belknap Street. The architects chose to match the column bays and window spacing with brick columns and metal frames that match the building. Parking garage:


Main Entrance:


Office building and water wall:


Fountains:

Edited by John T Roberts, 06 November 2004 - 06:34 PM.

[normanfd]

I wish the office buildings were at least 10 floors tall. Nevertheless, I prefer the open campus with greenspace and fountains next to the Trinity instead of a huge, massive skyscraper and parking garage. There does need to be some gradient between building heights and density separating the river from the taller structures in the center of Downtown.

[RD Milhollin]

I'm with Norman. Although I don't often agree when "height for height's sake" arguments are made in answer to "what do you want downtown" questions, I think a midrise building 10-15 stories high would have done a lot to add to the urban fabric downtown, particularly if situated at the intersection of Belknap and Taylor. There is of course still room for expansion, and a tower with small footprint could be put there in the future. Other than that, The Radio Shack Center is bold, dramatic, and original. The fountain is a great addition to the streetscape, makes me think we might need more scattered around.

Pup

[Call me Arch Stanton]

Call me a homer, but I went for the full on ten. Between it's appearance and it's impact, I think it's virtually off the charts.

[John T Roberts]

Pup, I did take a shot from the location that we all thought would make a good one, and I was disappointed with the results. The southernmost section of the water wall had the lights out and I tried to stage my photographs so that the section did not show up. I will try again in a few days.

[mosteijn]

I gave it a 9. It would be worthy of a 10 if the layout wasn't so durn suburban, but it's still a very nice building and an excellent addition to the Trinity riverfront.

Great photos, John! I thought the first one at night was a rendering due to it's sharpness and overall "unreal" quality. The fountains look amazing as well. Kudos to RadioShack for putting them in!

Edited by John T Roberts, 06 November 2004 - 06:33 PM.

[kenkuhl]

I've shown the campus to 2 visitors from out-of-towner in the past week and they were both very impressed...

but they were both even more impressed with Pier One Place...especially at night.

get's an 8 from me.

[UrbanLandscape]

I give it a 6, because it's an excellent design, an excellent location, but not both. As nice as it is, it really feels out of place.

[cjyoung]

I wish they would have built 50+ stories (actually 70+ stories!), but beggars can't be choosey, so I gave the project an "8."

[djold1]

I am really torn on the Radio Shack campus. I have waited to respond so that I could drive by it several times and look at different angles. Also by day and by night.

I have to say that it is a nice set of buildings on a great location. Period. They coulda done much better. I just don't get the gut feeling that it is anything exceptional.

The idea of the low campus appeals to me. This area is definitely not the place for corporate phallic symbols, which is what most tall buildings in non-space restricted areas tend to be.

The design is perfectly acceptable as a contemporary office building complex and it looks like it will be a pleasant place to work. But I have this feeling that 20-25 years from now as the Town Lake area develops that this will be a candidate for a tear-down to use the land in a better way.

Tandy didn't do anything wrong here. They just didn't do anyting exceptional, in my opinion.

[WTx]

I think it is a great and beautiful campus but if you want to make a statement a highrise would have been better.

[John T Roberts]

I do wish they would have done something that complemented Pier 1 Place.

[hipolyte]

Okay, I gave it a 5. It's a nice complex, but from Belknap, with the 'space ship' front doors and it's low overall aspect, it reminds me of a strip shopping center with an Ultimate Electronics in it.
I'm underwhelmed.
I had also hoped for greater green space on the street (which Pier One did), and maybe a view of the river.
The fountains are cool, and I'm sure Radio Shack will always maintain them well. That, and Burnett Park makes one think the Water Gardens plight is simply that it needed a corporate campus on one end.

[lobster]

.... or perhaps a convention center

[fwpcman]

I gave it a nine. The question is how will it look in another twenty years. One of the real tests for good architecture is will it stand the test of time. Will it appear dated or will it maintain its contemporary feel for many years to come. A prime example is the 500 W. 7th structure that's over 43 years old.

[lobster]

funny you should mention that bldg.. (500 w 7th) I was just in there a week ago and noticed something peculiar about a second bank of elevators apart from the main ones, near the rear hall behind Subway.. They serve basement through 8, but if you stand on the 1st floor facing the elevator doors, you can see sets of doors directly above as if they were once for a mezzanine level that might have been removed (?).. I'll get a pic or two so you can see what I'm talking about

[mosteijn]

I gave it a nine. The question is how will it look in another twenty years. One of the real tests for good architecture is will it stand the test of time. Will it appear dated or will it maintain its contemporary feel for many years to come. A prime example is the 500 W. 7th structure that's over 43 years old.

Totally agree about 500 W. 7th, it's one of my favorite buildings in Fort Worth. I can't wait for it to get historic recognition and become a landmark that the city can treasure well into the 21st century.

[Urbndwlr]

I agree w/ many of you. I'm very happy RadioShack built Downtown along the new urban lake. I would, however, have liked to see them:

- either leave the majestic oak trees or build right up to the curb at Belknap and Henderson (NOT have a massive parking structure facing outward)
They did do a little to screen it, however I've seen much better parking-concealing designs.

- build a more scalable site plan. The buildings are fanend out to meet the river, but will reduce the possible density on the site. It seems like a suburban site plan (not suprising given they hired HKS).
Also, Sometime in the distant future, those buildings will come back on the rental market. I don't think they are well designed for multi-tenant office space.

- build at least one vertical component at the southeastern corner of the site. They could have built one 12-story building (with the same massive floor plates they are using) at the corner of Belknap and Taylor, with a vertical element (up to the archtiect) that would really have called attention to the company, as Pier 1 has succeeded in doing. The campus then would have stair-stepped down toward the lake/river, and they would have saved several acres of land for sale or future development or just saved a beautiful patch of old trees.

Imagine a 12-story, 250 foot tall building with a pyramid roof and spire taking it to 300 feet. They could have offset some of the additional cost of going vertical by eliminating the need for so much structured parking.

[rocky]

I understand that you guys are all talking from an architectural perspective but the real revolution of the radio shack facility is the new line of thinking. I toured it about 2 weeks ago and its an entirely new concept. My friend is a Senior network admin over there and he doesn't have an office. Non of them have offices. The entire campus is wireless and there are as many conference rooms as there are cubicles it seemed. He does all of his business on his lap top and cell phone. His department is paperless so he doesn't need a desk of any sort. They have meetings in the conference rooms and when the meeting is over they just stay in the conference room unless someone else has it booked. Or they migrate outside and do their work in the sun. If he needs to see people, he sets up in the caeteria where everyone passes through when they exit the building and grabs them as they go by. He says he is far more efficient and loves it. It was very impressive and it's hard to believe it works.

[Willy1]

I gave it a 6 because it's nice but it looks like something that belongs in Plano or Frisco... It's nice to have some varied height between downtown and the river, but this campus just looks very suburban to me. I think the Radio Shack/Tandy Towers were a much more urban feeling even though they're not as pedestrian friendly. I'm just happy that the same corp that built the Tandy Center has now built something else in downtown rather than leaving for the suburbs. Plus, there is always the hope that they'll build something more vertical in the future....

[vjackson]

I have to agree with Todd...I give it a 3. I won't get on my "fw's lack of vision soapbox", but RS was another blown chance for FW to really make an architectural statement. If RS didn't want to build something tall, okay, fine..then do something daring, something different than anything else in FW. The RS buildings would fit perfectly fine in Cityview or Hulen. They're not necessarily bad, just not good, just very commercial, almost governmental. Solona would have been awesome there. What a waste of prime riverfront space. Hopefully the TCC campus will be better.

[DrkLts]

I give it a 3 as well

[JKC]

I said 5 because it is a nice looking corporate campus IMO. But there are many of these in the suburbs around North Texas and the country for that matter. I ranks right in the middle of the pack for those. I would have preferred a more urban design with less prairie.

[vjackson]

Somewhat offsubject: But anyone know how many employees work at RS headquarters?? We were discussing RS at work this morning. About 100 have been let go this past year, and more are very likely. Anyone have any opinions on what went wrong with Radioshack. Its competition like Best Buy and Circuit City are doing very well. RS's stock did shoot up some after it announced a new CEO, but most analyist are saying RS is going to have a tough time turning itself around. I'm going to try to find the article where some RS bigwig practically named a price for the company. I meant to post it, but never got around to it.

[360texas]

A buildings exterior is sometimes determined by the interior functionality. Shortly after the Riverfront Campus opening I had the opportunity to visit during an Open House. I posted several interior images here

http://www.fortworth...p?showtopic=873

[texastrill]

I still think its only a 4.the pics are great,i just think they could of been more urban in the design.height would of helped my ranking but not much.its still bettr than what was there before.

[Crossroads]

I gave it an 8. The buildings are seven stories high, not low for any downtwn standards. Very contemporary and functional. Only thing is that I wish the Store One/campus could be closer to Taylor/Belknap, so that that corner would be denser. Right now not many know that the StoreOne is a RadioShack store!

[vjackson]

Somewhat offsubject: But anyone know how many employees work at RS headquarters?? We were discussing RS at work this morning. About 100 have been let go this past year, and more are very likely. Anyone have any opinions on what went wrong with Radioshack. Its competition like Best Buy and Circuit City are doing very well. RS's stock did shoot up some after it announced a new CEO, but most analyist are saying RS is going to have a tough time turning itself around. I'm going to try to find the article where some RS bigwig practically named a price for the company. I meant to post it, but never got around to it.

I guess this answers my question:
:
FORT WORTH -- RadioShack will cut 400 to 450 jobs starting next month, with the majority of the layoffs coming at its downtown Fort Worth headquarters, which currently employs just under 2,000 people, the company said Thursday.

The cuts will come at all levels, said Jim Fredericks, executive vice president for administration at the electronics retailer, which last month reported its first quarterly loss in nearly eight years. He said the move does not involve any outsourcing of work but instead "is eliminating activities, eliminating functions that do not support our store operations."

Affected employees will be notified by early September, the company said.

Word of the cuts comes less than three weeks after Julian Day started work July 24 as the company's new chief executive.

After 18 months of declining profits and stock price, the company is in the middle of a turnaround plan, launched in February under Day's predecessor, to reduce costs and boost sales and profits through the addition of new merchandise.

Based on Day's track record at Kmart, Sears and Safeway, investment analysts had predicted that he might institute tougher cost-cutting measures than the original turnaround plan sought.

But they also said they wanted to see Day reinvigorate the RadioShack brand, capitalizing on the chain's thousands of locations nationwide to bring customers back into stores with new merchandising.

So far the company has closed 480 underperforming stores, consolidated two distribution centers and closed or sold five repair centers. Those moves have eliminated about 650 jobs, according to the company.

RadioShack's total employment, including workers in its remaining 4,500 company-owned stores, is about 40,000, spokeswoman Kay Jackson said. That does not count workers at an additional 1,500 RadioShack stores that franchisees own and operate.

"This announcement is not a surprise in the sense that one would expect it, given RadioShack's finances," said Richard Weinhart, who follows the company for BMO Capital Markets.

He said he would anticipate similar moves in the future.

"We can't say this is the end of it," Fredericks said.

The company recognizes that it must get its costs in line with its revenues, he said, but he declined to speculate on whether further job cuts are planned.

Since the end of 2000, when the company reported 4,529 Tarrant County employees, RadioShack's local employment has fallen by more than 1,000, not counting Thursday's announced cuts. Some of those lost positions represent workers in operations that have been sold, but most were reductions, leaving the company with more than 3,000 Tarrant County employees.

Weinhart said that merchandise changes the company has detailed so far, such as dropping slow-moving items like keyboards and metal detectors and replacing them with items like flat-panel TVs and home computer networking gear, should boost sales.

But those items also face fierce competition from mass merchants, from Best Buy to Wal-Mart, and will carry lower profit margins, he said.

"Their entire business model is changing from a 50 percent gross profit margin to one in the low 40 percent range. That's a significant piece of your profit," he said, and it needs to be offset with lower overhead.

Fredericks said RadioShack's shift in merchandise is "not about introducing low-profit items. It's about introducing items consumers want."

In the past year, RadioShack has struggled to replace falling revenue from its wireless-phone business, which had grown to about one-third of sales. The company switched from selling Verizon phones and services to selling Cingular but faced inventory challenges that resulted in temporary shortages of some popular phone models.

RadioShack's share price (ticker: RSH), which is down 37 percent in the past year, rose 25 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $16.62 Thursday. Trading had closed before the company announced the layoffs.

[safly]

Well I guess if they didn't build that stupid "likely soon to be EMPTY" techno campus, then maybe that money could have been better suited for employee hiring practice, talent building and INNOVATION(S). And better patent/copyright practices.

Funny commercials though. Especially the NINJA one.

[CurtisD]

hurts to see Radioshack turning as reclusive as its CEO
By Mitchell Schnurman
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Julian Day's predecessors were more than just CEOs. In late March, Bass Hall hosted an inaugural, black-tie event to honor the most important real estate projects in downtown Fort Worth. RadioShack was a winner, cited for its modern, parklike campus on the Trinity River.

When RadioShack's name was called, Nina Petty strode to the stage to accept the award, and many in the audience were stunned. Although Petty had been a key player in building the headquarters, she hadn't worked at RadioShack for eight months.

Petty played her part gracefully, but the snub was unmistakable. Downtown Fort Worth Inc. was holding its version of the business Oscars, and one of the stars -- a cornerstone of civic and social life for generations -- didn't bother to show up.

This is RadioShack today: a shrinking public company and a withering corporate citizen.

Since Julian Day arrived in July, RadioShack has gone virtually underground, led by a chief executive who shows no interest in becoming part of the community. Day has rejected invitations to meet with the business elite and speak to area organizations. Many local leaders who make the rounds of area events say they've never seen him.

Day has granted no on-the-record interviews and even barred reporters from this week's annual meeting, which for years served as a pep rally to show off RadioShack's latest gadgets.

Day's seclusion is fueling speculation -- and local fears -- that he's a short-timer who's dressing up RadioShack for a sale. He could net a huge payday, return to his Montana lake house and take comfort in the fact that shareholders benefited immensely from his brief stay, even if Fort Worth is worse off for it.

That may seem defensible, given that public companies are supposed to maximize their return to investors. But the best enterprises -- those built for the long haul -- serve many stakeholders, including employees and their hometown.

Even when American Airlines was on the verge of bankruptcy, the company and its leaders never withdrew from the community in the way that RadioShack has.

This isn't just about altruism. It's good business, at least over the long term, because it fosters better morale among employees and good will with the neighbors. Most CEOs know this intuitively.

This week, for instance, Ralph Babb of Comerica Inc. is coming to the Metroplex and giving a speech about his bank's growth strategy for Texas. Comerica is relocating its headquarters to Dallas from Detroit, and the move won't be complete until fall, but he's already reaching out.

At some companies, Day's isolationism would go unnoticed. It's striking here, because RadioShack has been Fort Worth's leading corporate patron for decades, with a civic commitment rivaled only by the Bass family.

RadioShack's longtime leader Charles Tandy jump-started downtown's revival in the 1970s. He teamed with Sid Bass to bring Fort Worth a first-class hotel, and the company built the Tandy towers, an enclosed shopping mall and subway line.

When John Roach was CEO, he spearheaded major public initiatives on education and the arts, and he was a force at Texas Christian University. More recently, Len Roberts pushed for the riverfront campus, recognizing that it could become a catalyst in the Trinity Uptown project.

That legacy of leadership was one reason that city and county leaders were willing to cough up $96 million in public incentives for RadioShack's campus. It was unthinkable that RadioShack might not be part of downtown Fort Worth.

In addition to the jobs and the bricks and mortar, the company and its employees were consistently among the most generous contributors to the United Way, the symphony, the museums and the Van Cliburn.

That's all in retreat now, in part because RadioShack is struggling financially and has laid off about 800 downtown workers in the past year. RadioShack gave $764,325 to the United Way in 2006, a significant amount -- but less than half as much as the previous year and far less than the $2 million it gave five years earlier.

When RadioShack officials said that Day had to focus on fixing the company -- and couldn't spare the time to hobnob with local leaders or talk with analysts and reporters -- people understood.

But Day has been here for nearly a year now, and he's still practically invisible. And the company has taken on his public persona.

This is where I usually write that the CEO has declined a request for an interview. Except that RadioShack's media-relations people don't actually decline anything these days. They sent an e-mail with a perfunctory "thanks for your interest" and "we have nothing further to add," as if they'd said anything of any substance at any time in the past six months.

RadioShack has repeatedly stonewalled reporters as more bad news spills out of the place, and no one doubts that the attitude comes from the top.

Day may be doing a fine job of cutting costs and doubling the stock price, but is this any way to rebuild a company? Or to lead it?

The current issue of Fortune magazine declares that Business is back! -- fully recovered from the fallout of Enron and the dot-com meltdown. Executives are asserting themselves again in public debates, urging expanded healthcare coverage, more sustainable products and environmentally friendly practices.

"Now CEOs are standing up and speaking out again," the magazine cover says.

Someone should send Julian Day a copy, in case RadioShack canceled its subscription.

[CurtisD]

^^^^
Harsh.

[76107]

Given the redesign of the paper, I think Radio Shack may have canceled its subscription for other reasons. Just sayin'.

I like the campus.

I remember a friend of mine though, who had a friend when he worked in real finance, as opposed to what we have here aside from a few deals, who made a very good living shorting companies that were in the midst of building a great new headquarters. It seems, about a quarter or two after the move, and for a bit before hand, that board members and executives become entranced with the idea of a big shiny building..Which isn't their business...

[steve-o]

I remember a friend of mine though, who had a friend when he worked in real finance, as opposed to what we have here aside from a few deals, who made a very good living shorting companies that were in the midst of building a great new headquarters. It seems, about a quarter or two after the move, and for a bit before hand, that board members and executives become entranced with the idea of a big shiny building..Which isn't their business...

There is actually a lot of truth to this. Someone actually did a study on this recently. With RadioShack and Pier 1 both sucking, there would appear to be something to this belief.

And, BTW, I like the campus, too. Maybe Julian will lease me an office.

Steve
http://thecaravanofdreams.blogspot.com

[vjackson]

RadioShack faces suit on 401(k)s

Employee seeking class-action status; retailer won't comment


12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 16, 2007
By MARIA HALKIAS / The Dallas Morning News
mhalkias@dallasnews.com

An employee of RadioShack Corp. is seeking class-action status for a lawsuit alleging the Fort Worth-based consumer electronics retailer breached its fiduciary duty in managing its employee 401(k) plan, which historically has been top-heavy with company stock.

Ever since the collapse of Enron Corp., financial planners have warned U.S. workers that owning too many company shares is a dangerous way to save for retirement.

The lawsuit says the company irresponsibly encouraged employees to invest in RadioShack stock, failed to negotiate lower fees for the Putnam mutual funds selected for the 401(k) and didn't review funds periodically to identify better performing and less expensive alternatives.

The 48-page lawsuit was filed Monday by Connecticut resident Jeffrey V. Cormier on behalf of himself and other plan participants and beneficiaries.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, it accuses the company and its board of breaching fiduciary duties and violating federal pension law by causing employees to invest in or hold RadioShack stock when it was imprudent to do so.

Several similar lawsuits have been filed in recent years, alleging high fees and limited investment choices in company-sponsored, employee-directed 401(k) plans.

A RadioShack spokeswoman said the company "does not comment on pending litigation."

According to RadioShack's latest filing on the topic to the Securities and Exchange Commission, its 401(k) plan assets totaled $279.4 million as of June 30 and included $79.96 million in RadioShack stock. On that date, the plan had 7,324 employees participating in the program and 21,608 employees eligible.

At June 30, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2005, about 29 percent and 43 percent, respectively, of the investments of the plan consisted of RadioShack stock.

That number has come down significantly from more than 80 percent in 2000.

After thousands of Enron employees and retirees lost the bulk of their savings when the company's stock collapsed, many companies moved to make their stock a smaller part of employees' savings.

In December 2004, RadioShack stopped making matching contributions to the 401(k) in its stock.

RadioShack stock has been on a declining trend since 2000 and reached a low of $13.73 last summer before a new chief executive was hired. Shares fell 17 cents to $30.70 on Tuesday.

The lawsuit also contends that RadioShack administrators and the board of directors breached fiduciary duties by selecting and maintaining inappropriate Putnam funds for the 401(k) plan. It alleges the funds' poor performance and high fees resulted in the loss of millions of dollars by plan participants.

Plan assets were held by the Putnam Fiduciary Trust from 1996 through 2004. Mercer Trust Co., formerly known as Putnam, became the fund's trustee in 2005.

Putnam funds have been at the center of scandals and lawsuits in recent years. The company was ordered to pay million of dollars to settle federal and state lawsuits as recently as January.

Among the allegations was that some Putnam executives improperly profited by trading in and out of the fund shares frequently and that Putnam made improper payments to brokers to sell Putnam funds.

[vjackson]

RadioShack could be shopping for a tenant
Just 2 years ago, who would've predicted this change in the tide?
By MITCHELL SCHNURMAN
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

RadioShack is exploring another way to boost the bottom line: sublease one of the buildings at its riverfront headquarters.

It's a natural move, considering that the company has been struggling financially and laid off 800 downtown workers in the past year. The sprawling campus along the Trinity River can accommodate roughly twice as many employees as it houses today.

And it's hardly been used. Just two years ago, RadioShack and Fort Worth celebrated the headquarters' grand opening with a parade, a high school marching band and 13 busloads of store employees brought in for the event.

The honeymoon didn't last long. Since Julian Day arrived as chief executive last July, RadioShack has been brutally cutting costs big and small. Last week, office plants were carted to a garage and sold to employees for $5 each, presumably to save the expense of caring for the greenery.

Now that's depressing, given that the company made $42 million in the first quarter.

Sharing the headquarters space might improve the mood by bringing in new people and some positive energy. It certainly would boost downtown Fort Worth, if the space spurs a corporate relocation and helps attract more patrons to Sundance Square.

But it's not what local leaders had in mind when they agreed to give $96 million in public subsidies so RadioShack wouldn't move elsewhere. Fort Worth doesn't generally give incentives to office projects, because the occupancy rate tops 95 percent in downtown, making it one of the strongest markets in the country.

In subletting its space, RadioShack has a distinct advantage over other developers who couldn't get tax breaks.

RadioShack didn't confirm or deny the sublease strategy, but real estate brokers say that there have been discussions and that RadioShack would like to deal with one large tenant.

Its 900,000-square-foot campus is a destination address. It includes three six-story buildings and a large common area with a cafe, fitness center and broadcast facilities.

It has great views of the river with a low profile on the central business district side -- apart from the RadioShack concept store in front.

With the brand so visible and dominant, future tenants will have to be comfortable playing second fiddle.

The campus was designed to be flexible. It has extra land for more offices, if expansion is needed, yet the buildings are distinct enough to be separated and leased individually.

RadioShack shelled out $227 million to build the campus and then sold it to a German real estate concern in mid-2005, as part of an ill-fated strategy to buy back company stock.

RadioShack occupies the campus under a long-term lease, and a city official said the company is permitted to sublease space. To get its entire subsidy, however, RadioShack must employ at least 1,000 workers who live in Fort Worth and 250 who live in the central city.

Officials have not yet presented an audited report on RadioShack's compliance for 2006, but it's expected to be given to the City Council soon.

If RadioShack falls short of the job numbers, it may owe the city roughly $1 million in taxes annually through 2014. After that year, the job requirement drops steadily to 500 Fort Worth employees, said Ardina Washington, economic-development manager for the city.

RadioShack has talked to brokers about subleasing at least 175,000 square feet, and that size may be higher after last month's 280 layoffs. The conventional wisdom is that downtown can absorb the extra space easily.

But an additional 1 million square feet of office space is set to come onto the market in the next few years, with big projects including City Place, the old Tandy towers, and the new 16-story Carnegie.

From 2002 to 2004, more than 350,000 square feet of office space was vacated in downtown Fort Worth. But in 2005, the city absorbed that much and then some, and occupied an additional 153,000 square feet in '06, according to Downtown Fort Worth Inc., an advocacy group.

The city is so hot now that it looks like it can handle anything.

RadioShack should stand as a warning: The tide can shift quickly.

[gdvanc]

There is actually a lot of truth to this. Someone actually did a study on this recently. With RadioShack and Pier 1 both sucking, there would appear to be something to this belief.

I've heard similar stories about stock performance or earnings issues when a company invests in a new headquarters. So far these have seemed anecdotal; I've yet to find an actual study that could be evaluated. I'd like to see them. It would be particularly interesting to see how they control for other factors.

Still, it's not entirely unplausible, is it? Could management become distracted from operational and strategic issues by such a project? Could it be a bad financial move as funds that could be invested in operations or research (or returned to investors) are spirited away for a gleaming tower? I'm sure that does happen.

We can probably come up with examples where this might have been the case. Was this the case for Radio Shack and Pier One? Possibly. But weren't they stumbling a bit before building?

We can probably also come up with examples of companies that have built new headquarters and continued to perform well.

There are probably circumstances under which investing in a new headquarters building makes sense and circumstances that augur against it. I'd like to see a good analysis on that. In any case, for a struggling company in a challenging environment, it's probably not the answer.

[vjackson]

That's all in retreat now, in part because RadioShack is struggling financially and has laid off about 800 downtown workers in the past year. RadioShack gave $764,325 to the United Way in 2006, a significant amount -- but less than half as much as the previous year and far less than the $2 million it gave five years earlier.

Sometimes I get embarrassed just reading the Star-Telegram. Do you really expect a company that has closed hundred of stores, laid off 800 + employees from its headquarters alone, and is struggling financially to continue to donate generously to charity? And if employee contributions are part of the donations the journalist is talking about...well duh, there's almost a thousand fewer employees donating!!!!

And civic contributions and community involvement is wonderful and all, but that's not the main function of a CEO or corporation. I could be totally wrong, but I'm gonna say Mr. Day's main concern is figuring out a solution to RS's bleak future. With a company having the major problems that RS is having I don't think a park for DTFW or having a chat with the lousy city paper is high on his list of Things-To-Do.

[JBB]

Did some big shot at RS beat a S-T big wig in a golf match? The lead story on their web site is one criticizing the poor audio quality of the RS shareholder meeting webcast. Slow news day?

[JulieM]

Must have been!

[vjackson]

I found this interesting...and amusing.

RadioShack CEO bids for a comeback

Leader who quit in scandal touts EasySale auction service


10:27 AM CDT on Wednesday, June 6, 2007
By MARIA HALKIAS / The Dallas Morning News
mhalkias@dallasnews.com

After a public scandal involving a drunken-driving conviction and a falsified résumé, many business executives would never be heard from again.


Dave Edmondson But Dave Edmondson, who resigned as RadioShack Corp.'s chief executive under pressure last year, is putting himself back in the spotlight today to launch his new venture – a service that will pick up people's valuable junk and sell it for them on auction sites like eBay.

Only months after being promoted to the $2 million-a-year position as CEO at Fort Worth-based RadioShack, Mr. Edmondson, a former Baptist pastor, resigned in February 2006 when his exaggerated résumé was revealed.

His fall from grace was swift and deep. He got a divorce after 27 years of marriage, his father died, and his drunken-driving sentence had him performing community service by cleaning up after homeless people at highway underpasses and disposing of pet waste at an animal shelter.

Afterward, he said in an interview Tuesday, he spent months "unwinding" in places like the south of France, and he decided to start with a clean slate.

He has built his own company, hiring more than a dozen loyal, laid-off colleagues from RadioShack. Included is former senior vice president Stewart Asimus, Mr. Edmondson's financial partner in the new venture.

So far they have spent $600,000, mostly Mr. Edmondson's money, to launch EasySale Inc. today.

Mr. Edmondson is emerging from his scandal with a public display of chutzpah in the form of guerilla marketing.

Known for his salesmanship, he will lead 25 yellow-and-red EasySale trucks on a 100-mile procession through Dallas-Fort Worth today to build brand awareness.

The procession will begin at 7:30 a.m. at American Airlines Center in Dallas and go against traffic on major highways, including North Central Expressway to LBJ Freeway, Interstate 35E and Highways 114 and 360. The caravan, which will stop at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and end at EasySale's distribution and processing center in Arlington, will have a motorcycle escort.

"I wanted to do something entrepreneurial. I just needed to find a space with a need," Mr. Edmondson said. "It was a tough year. I had worked hard, and then my career imploded.

"I could have said, 'I quit,' or I could learn from my mistakes, use it and not withdraw from the world."

EasySale is a service that picks up items worth at least $50 each from homes or businesses, appraises them, professionally photographs them and sells them through online auction sites such as eBay.

EasySale keeps a percentage, which Mr. Edmondson says is less than what similar eBay stores and consignment stores charge.

He said the biggest difference between EasySale and eBay drop-off stores – an industry that has grown to $1.5 billion in annual business and 2,500 locations – is the convenience factor of picking up items from "very busy people's homes."

"EBay went from zero sales to $60 billion after 11 years," he said.

He's hired 65 people and plans to increase that number to 100 by the end of this month.

Two employees will arrive at customers' homes wearing crisp uniforms and booties over their shoes to protect carpets as they haul off items. He said he's signed a contract with a service to have the trucks cleaned every two weeks.

The warehouse has the latest monitoring systems, and security is tight, with all employees going through criminal, driver's license and credit checks, he said.

"We're sending a message that we will take care of your stuff," he said. "We're catering to the do-it-for-me, affluent customer."

He's hoping his business model will grow beyond D-FW, where he estimates the potential for a $6 billion market – an average of $2,200 worth of "auctionable items" in each of the region's 2.5 million households.

"I'm a positive person. I'm having fun hiring people and putting them to work," Mr. Edmondson said. "There was no such thing as an eBay store 38 months ago."