Tandy UK

 

Tandy Corporation was an American-based family-owned company for leather goods with its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1919 by Norton Hinckley and Dave Tandy as a leather supply store but expanded under Charles Tandy, who acquired RadioShack in 1963.

In 1973, Tandy Corporation began an expansion program outside the US and opened a chain of consumer electronics stores in Europe and Australia under the Tandy name. The first UK RadioShack-like store opened on October 11, 1973, in Hall Green, Birmingham. These new stores were under the direct management and ownership of the Tandy Corporation until a subsidiary, InterTAN, was formed to manage them.

Tandy stores in the UK sold mainly own-brand goods under realistic labels. The shops were distinguished by continuing to use written sales receipts and cash drawers instead of tills to the early 1990s. Also, staff was required to take customers’ details to be added to a mailing list no matter how small the purchase the customer made. Tandy stores’ popular feature was the free battery club, in which customers could claim a certain number of free batteries per year. The stores ran a credit card scheme and extended warranty policies in the 1990s.

In 1999, the UK stores were acquired by Carphone Warehouse as part of an expansion strategy. Most were converted to Carphone Warehouse or Tecno photographic stores. In May 2000, the Tandy name was dropped, and the original RadioShack name was assumed. By 2001 all Tandy stores had been closed or converted. A small number were sold to T2 Retail Ltd, but these too closed by 2005. In 2012, a UK company, Tandy Corporation Ltd, acquired the UK rights to the Tandy brand from RadioShack and now operates as an online retailer of electronic components and kits at tandyonline.com.