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news

Bell Canada Gets to The Source

By RichardWhittall

20090304bellthesource2.jpg
Photo by christian jackson from the Torontoist Flickr Pool


If you want to gauge the disconnect between business “experts” and regular, everyday consumers, read online coverage of Bell Canada’s announced purchase of 750 The Source (formerly Radio Shack) stores last Monday. This apparently “gutsy” move will get noticed, said Kaan Yigit, president of telecommunications consultancy Solutions Research Group in the Globe and Mail, because “The Source is a respected leader in consumer electronics retailing right across Canada,” explained Bell and BCE CEO George Cope in the Star.
It’s hard to see why exactly the purchase (for an as-yet undisclosed amount) of one of the most ubiquitous electronic retail stores in the country by a giant telecommunications company is “gutsy” (lowering cell phone charges to match those of Europe and the United States—that would be gutsy). And The Source, whose American parent company Circuit City filed for bankruptcy last fall, is a “leader” alright, with stores in just about every suburban and underground downtown mall in the GTA.
The move is a potential boon for Bell’s cell phone and high-speed internet line, struggling to keep pace with Rogers’ and Telus’ recent opening of 300 new outlet stores (although The Source is under an exclusivity contract with Rogers through early next year, meaning they won’t be able to sell Bell products until January 2010). As for what it will mean for the rest of us, Montreal blogger Steve Faguy summed it up best: “[It] make[s] perfect sense, as both companies offer crappy product, have horrible customer service, charge way too much and yet survive because people who don’t know any better recognize the brand.”
So in a year’s time when you’re at The Source by Bell to buy computer wires on your way home from work, expect a large robot named Alice to assist you with whatever you want, as long as you say “USB cable” as loudly and as clearly as possible. And if she asks if you’d like to buy the cable as part of “bundle” package along with a mouse, keyboard, and $1400 laptop, just say no.

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Comments

  • http://null EsplanadeGuy

    Their whole “ER” campaign is awful. Whatever ad agency came up with that concept needs to be fired, and so do the dummies that approved it. What were they thinking?

  • http://null rek

    Wow, I didn’t even realize Radio Shack was gone.

  • http://undefined rek

    Ad agencies: Zulu Alpha Kilo, Leo Burnett Toronto, Ig2 (Montreal) and Cossette. 4 agencies.
    Too many chefs do what?

  • http://null EsplanadeGuy

    I didn’t think they were using Cossette anymore but I could be wrong.
    Bell is just as guilty for ok’ing it. Too many drinks at lunch i guess.

  • http://undefined rek

    Bell is triply guilty: they OK’d this travesty, rejected probably a dozen better ideas, and had 4 agencies instead of 1 work on it.

  • http://null Lands Down

    I’m interested to see what they’ll do with it. The stores are already there and, although terrible, there’s real opportunity there. The stores are cluttered, the product is tacky, service is iffy…Bell has a decent opportunity to fix things.
    Does this mean the Bell World’s will close?

  • http://undefined EsplanadeGuy

    I honestly don’t know how anyone can work in this industry anymore.
    There’s already tons of lay offs with the economy, and then when (and if) you’re lucky enough to get into an agency, to be working on garbage campaigns like this is a complete let down.
    I’m sure everyone at Bell and at the agencies hired are still patting themselves on the back for this one. They must be on glue.

  • http://null billcool

    Bell just quietly stole 750 exclusive stores from under Rogers’ nose at a bargain price, most Bay St analysts are saying for the basic liquidity value or even less. With “Place” being one of the fundamental 4 Ps of marketing, no more so than in the happy world of wireless… yeah, gutsy’s a fair adjective. The Source is actually profitable and has been for the past 7 years… Circuit City may have gone bust but it certainly was not because of The Source. Er, sounds like a good deal to me!

  • http://null _V

    From the sounds of things, most people here are remembering ‘Radio Shack’ stores as they used to be. In the last couple of years, many of ‘The Source’ stores seem to have changed — brighter, less cluttered, less of the weird/tacky merch. So I’m hoping Bell keeps them on this track. It certainly sounds like they’re not planning on doing too much meddling, at least not right away.

  • http://null Greg Smith

    I do still think of them as ‘Radio Shack’, though the recent changes haven’t gone unnoticed. I wonder how/if the new owners will change the in-store experience… hopefully not much?
    As for “lowering cell phone charges to match those of Europe and the United States—that would be gutsy”, I think the operative word would be stupid. Why blow the sweet, sweet oligopoly they’ve got going with Telus and Rogers? Beggar-thy-cartel would mean a price war that none of them wants to win…

  • http://undefined j-man

    I hated Radio Shack and hate The Source even more. Good riddance to both of them.
    Changes…what changes…
    Maybe different carpeting when they changed from Radio Shack but still way overpriced, out dated, worst products ever. They have been selling the same 4×4 Monster Truck RC for the past 15 years – I swear, its in every store they have. True story, bought an MP3 Player that crashed (sony walkman 4 gb), just for an exchange they wanted to charge me 20% restocking fee. F-that.