Bismarck Tribune

The RadioShack at Gateway Mall is one of the 480 company-owned store locations that will be closed as part of the company's turnaround plan, according to Jessica Study, media relations assistant for RadioShack Corp.

RadioShack owns 5,000 stores nationwide.

"Most locations that are closing are in declining malls or shopping areas," Study said.

She said the company plans to "transfer the investment from less profitable stores into new categories of merchandise and products, and hopes to "transition as many employees as possible" from closing stores to locations that will remain open, based on employee "tenure status and other standard criteria."

A "very small number" will receive severance pay, she said.

Study said the average RadioShack employs four to six people.

The Gateway Mall RadioShack will begin final clearance in May, she said, and will be emptied by August.

Store and mall managers did not comment on the closing.

BlueTooth technology, high definition radio, GPS and headphone technology are among the product categories RadioShack will pursue in the future, she said.

"We're very positive about the future for the company," Study said. "We believe in it and we're going to keep pushing forward."

For fiscal year 2005, RadioShack reported net income of $265.3 million, or $1.78 per diluted share, compared to net income of $337.2 million or $2.08 per diluted share in fiscal 2004.

"RadioShack failed to achieve its financial objectives in 2005," said former president and CEO David Edmondson.

(Reach reporter Nathan Denton at 250-8261 or at nathan.denton@;bismarcktribune.com)