Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.
DALLAS -- RadioShack has decided to close its sales counters inside Blockbuster stores, but the video-rental chain said Wednesday that it will expand its offering of consumer electronics with or without RadioShack's help.
It was an unceremonious ending to a joint venture between the two Texas-based companies.
Over the past six months, RadioShack opened boutiques inside 130 Blockbuster stores. If the concept worked, RadioShack envisioned rolling it out to 5,000 Blockbusters.
But RadioShack Chief Executive Leonard Roberts quashed the venture this week, saying that the boutiques didn't generate enough sales to make them worthwhile. He said RadioShack could find more cost-effective ways to increase its sales.
Blockbuster CEO John Antioco said his company gained "valuable insights" from the RadioShack pilot. He said, however, that RadioShack stuffed the boutiques with lots of stuff that Blockbuster customers didn't really want and didn't use store space effectively.
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