Professional Cycling For the Fans - Radio Shack......Really?

Hey, if they are gonna pay the $ fine. But they are pretty much a D list American company. I honestly would prefer Oracle or even the devil-Nike.
Looking back on US ProTour and predecsessor (bad spelling there) teams; here's what I see
Motorola - would be much more relevant now in the cell phone age than in the radio days
7-11. They are in every suburb, right? Then as is now.
USPS - seemed like the most national of US teams. Probably not the best spending of near gov't $s
Discovery - bad timing to sign a multi year contract right before the main draw retires and the coverage is taken over by another cable channel. Had they combined coverage with sponsorship; woulda worked out well
Garmin/Chipotle/Slipstream - a good mainstream US company, a small potatoes food chain and a team name. I like Garmin as a major sponsor, besides cycling everyone knows their car GPS and this probably well spent marketing dollars.
Columbia/HTC/HighRoad - a clothing company with no real cycling affiliation; a phone maker I've never heard of; and another team name.
I've probably missed a few, but I think I got the majority of US team sponsors. (T-Mobile was more Euro at the time, no?)
I think companies like Oracle or Nike or even Google or even a bike company like Trek or Specialized a la Cervelo might make good sponsors for a team.
I'm sure it all comes down to the $.
So, what do you all think?

Actually I think sponsorship in cycling is pretty good investment for many companies; you get lots of exposure for relatively little money compared to other sports. You can't put your logo on Manchester United's jersey for 10 million $ for example.

Would you be interested in a cell phone, or batteries?

I like Radio Shack, but I'm also a bit puzzled. With all the money they spend on advertising already, a company like Coke, Nike, Trek or Geico would seem more natural.

Their money is just as green. Good for them.

It's all about the Euro market, perhaps Radio Shack wants to grow there.

Radio Shack? That's really odd. Maybe a desperate attempt to boost sales. Have you been in a RS lately? The stores are a shell of what they used to be . . the shelves were getting so bare, they removed them! Most stuff has to be ordered form their online catalog, if you can sift through their cruddy website.:lol:

I don't know where they're getting the cash from, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a short term deal , or they default on payments in a year or so.
:cheers:

Is this a joke? I haven't seen an announcement anywhere yet..

I guess the issue for the larger companies is the current rep of the sport. Why would they want their name associated with a sport that has a perceived doping problem? I think more than one marketing director has raised that question. Radio Shack though? I thought they were not doing so well these days. Maybe they have less to lose then.

Cyclingfans.com broke the story last night

http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/433

Cyclingfans.com broke the story last night

http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/433

Ugh. This is one of my least favorite stores. Every time I go in there I feel like I have to bend over and take it. You pay 20$ for some stupid part that costs 5$ on the internet. But they don't care - you are paying extra for convenience of having it now, I guess.

When I was a kid, I would go there to buy stuff like resistors and so forth, but even that stuff was too expensive.

I don't know where they're getting the cash from, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a short term deal

Well, the domain name teamradioshack.com has been registered, but only for two years.

I love Radio Shack, they have those obscure connectors that other shops might have. I'm kind of a electronics nerd though and have been building stuff, working on electronics since I was a little kid. I just bought an I-Phone case from RS for $10 less than Apple store. nice!

Go to Radio Shack to buy just a radio.

eBay/PayPal needs a team

I use to like Radio Shack, but I think they are on the downhill slide.

I work for a subsidiary of Radio Shack (until 3:30 today anyway). I am pretty excited about the news. :thumb:

Radio Shack Corp had $4.2 billion in revenue last year. I think they can afford $10 million or so out of their marketing budget to support a cycling team.

Radio Shack cannot even afford to own its own corporate headquarters...they had to sell the buildings to the local community college, who is letting them occupy part of one building, rent free, for 5 years.

Radio Shack cannot even afford to own its own corporate headquarters...they had to sell the buildings to the local community college, who is letting them occupy part of one building, rent free, for 5 years.

Radio Shack Corp made $304 million before taxes last year on $4.2 billion in revenue.

EBITDA was $421 miliion.

They had free cash flow last year of $157 million.

Long Term Debt was $771 million, but with assets of over $1.5 billion, leaving Shareholder equity of $817 million.

Radio Shack has paid its stockholders' a dividend for the last 22 consecutive years.

Radio Shack certainly can afford to pay its debts, can afford a pro cycling team, and is not going away anytime soon.

http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/RSH/687547591x0x286711/1A2B46DC-6095-4610-89BE-44A455DCE53F/RadioShack_2008_Annual_Report.pdf

Radio Shack Corp made $304 million before taxes last year on $4.2 billion in revenue.

EBITDA was $421 miliion.

They had free cash flow last year of $157 million.

Long Term Debt was $771 million, but with assets of over $1.5 billion, leaving Shareholder equity of $817 million.

Radio Shack has paid its stockholders' a dividend for the last 22 consecutive years.

Radio Shack certainly can afford to pay its debts, can afford a pro cycling team, and is not going away anytime soon.

http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/RSH/687547591x0x286711/1A2B46DC-6095-4610-89BE-44A455DCE53F/RadioShack_2008_Annual_Report.pdf

I find these figures surprising. That is a great profit as a percentage of revenue.

Oh . . . I don't know . These days with "creative accounting" . . who knows what anyones worth!:lol:

You have it backwards.
You can't look at the Fortune 500 list and pick which ones would make a good sponsor.
What makes a good sponsor is whether or not they write you a check.

The sponsors drive the sport. We usually don't get to pick who we want on our kit.
If Radio Shack wants in, are you going to say, "no, we want Oracle"?

http://www.teamradioshack.com

Ah, who cares who the main sponsor is, should make for a fun year!

http://www.teamradioshack.com/getready/

Radio Shack Corp made $304 million before taxes last year on $4.2 billion in revenue.

EBITDA was $421 miliion.

They had free cash flow last year of $157 million.



holy hell... i never thought i would ever come across EBITDA in a cycling forum. but how are you calculating your free cash flow? EBIT-taxes+DA-incr in WC-cap ex? haha

Its a no brainer for a corp like Radioshack. An affliliation with an organization like LiveStrong just makes your corporation appear all warm and fuzzy. Great move for RadioShack

http://www.livestrong.com/lance-armstrong/video/radioshack-and-lance-to-form-new-cycling-team-in-2010/5687253c-7dc3-45d2-aae5-9d028d738b21/

I think it is great, they have the money and they want to spend it on cycling. :D

Hooters FTW

http://www.teamradioshack.com/getready/

Hooters FTW

lol! Imagine the jerseys!

I'd rather see LA in a Radio Shack jersey than in an Astana jersey.

"Beginning in 2010, Armstrong will compete for Team RadioShack as a cyclist, runner and triathlete in events around the world, including the 2010 Tour de France. No word yet on the management structure or riders who've committed for 2010."

Gosh, triathlete???

I wonder if Armstrong may know some of the executives at Radio Shack? I believe they're based out of Forth-Worth, just next to Dallas where Armstrong grew up. It may not have anything to do with it, but it's a possibility.

"Beginning in 2010, Armstrong will compete for Team RadioShack as a cyclist, runner and triathlete in events around the world, including the 2010 Tour de France. No word yet on the management structure or riders who've committed for 2010."

Gosh, triathlete???

You do know that he was a triathlete in his pre-cancer days, don't you?

Didn't see this one coming. Good luck Lance.

hmm...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2519/3749104979_fa81d56758.jpg

Columbia/HTC/HighRoad - a clothing company with no real cycling affiliation; a phone maker I've never heard of; and another team name.


You've never heard of HTC because their hardware is bought by phone carriers and re-badged as proprietary products. They're a huge name in the cell world.

hmm...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2519/3749104979_fa81d56758.jpg



:lol:

Maybe now there will be facilities to lock up bikes at all shopping centers with a Shack!

Kevin

(Listening to streaming audio via a set of headphones plugged into a patch cord. I bought the connector at RS.)

Oh . . . I don't know . These days with "creative accounting" . . who knows what anyones worth!:lol:

That's why you want to focus on cash. The $157million free cash flow is the most significant number. You can't fake cash easily.

This could be the first push to claim available market share with the disapperance of several players in the electronics industy.

Ugh, Team Radio Shack just doesn't roll out like a Team Oracle or Team Nike. It has too many syllables to say after a few drinks. Oh well, they got to spend their money somewhere. It's surely not in their stores. They're mostly empty these days.

Hooters FTW

I just don't think Lance has the figure to look good in those tight little orange bun-huggers.:twitchy:

Ah, who cares who the main sponsor is, should make for a fun year!

:thumb:

Awesome! Can't wait to see who they pick up.

RadioShack is fine.

I think you need a sail and a keel to get Oracle's attention.

Radio Shack cannot even afford to own its own corporate headquarters...they had to sell the buildings to the local community college, who is letting them occupy part of one building, rent free, for 5 years.

That means nothing, there are plenty of major companies who lease their corporate space. The rent free part for 5 years, again is nothing too surprising, I'm sure RadioShack is doing just fine.

Still... I am kind of glad Oracle didn't wade into this, but RadioShack does seem a bit downstream...nice move on their part.

From a brand perspective, this is just like Michael Jordan putting on a Wizards uniform to finish out his final chapter...

The red, black, & white, will make for nice colours.