Students who visit the University Co-op at the University of Texas at Austin can now browse and buy top consumer electronics products and desired brands available in a new RadioShack-branded section of the college store.
The new shop-in-shop retail space at the University Co-op, which opened on Friday, is just the first college store location that RadioShack plans to open 2013, with additional college bookstores, stretching from New York to San Diego, to be added to the roster throughout the fall. This is a part of the five-year agreement announced earlier this year with NACSCORP, a subsidiary of the National Association of College Stores, to offer an assortment of popular consumer electronics and accessories to the nearly 4,000 college store customers NACSCORP currently serves.
The college bookstore program is part of RadioShack's expansion into non-traditional channels through brand extension and partnership. The college market is key to engaging a new and informed consumer looking for the latest in innovation.
Top Tech at UT Students' Fingertips
RadioShack's retail space within the store consists of a 12-foot section of wall located on the first floor of the University Co-op. It is a one-stop, simple-to-shop spot for students to find the technology they need to keep their lives powered-up, protected and connected.
Whether it's Beats by Dre or headphones to block out the noise so they can focus on their studies, or an AUVIO Bluetooth speaker that can make any party portable, students can now find brand name and RadioShack's own exclusive private brand products and accessories in the University Co-op, a convenient location they likely pass by several times a day.
"The college consumer is one of the most connected consumers out there, and what better way to introduce the reinvigorated RadioShack brand to this audience than to go where they are, and give them what they need to make their technology not only work for them, but to make their lives more fun," said Joe Magnacca, Chief Executive Officer of RadioShack Corporation. "Non-traditional locations like this one at the University Co-op can serve as a gateway to a new generation of consumers for RadioShack, where we can begin to stake our claim as being the go-to source for the technology they need."
Being the first college store location in the country to debut RadioShackU's shop-in-shop college store offering is another example of the University Co-op team identifying opportunities to stay at the forefront of innovating within the college stores category.
The opening this fall of college store locations follows closely on the heels of RadioShack's announcement in early July that it is debuting several concept store locations over the next several months to deliver a more interactive and engaging shopping experience. The first of these concept store locations debuted in Manhattan in June.
