Local stores unaware of closures
RadioShack announced Tuesday that it plans close up to 1,100 stores in the United States.
A list of the stores that may close was not provided by the company.
Locally, there are stores at the Schuylkill Mall, Fairlane Village mall and one in Tamaqua at Hometown Commons, a shopping plaza.
In a press release, the company said it has reviewed its portfolio and could take the action. A timeline was not provided.
Elaine Maneval, Schuylkill Mall manager, said she had not heard the news about the store closures.
She said the 2,609-square-foot RadioShack store at the mall has been there since 1980.
She does not think it will close, she said.
Lease negations are taking place between the corporate office and the mall leasing company, Mericle Commercial Real Estate, Wilkes-Barre, Maneval said.
The lease expires March 31, she said.
"We have no reason to think the store is closing," Maneval said.
Jeremy Cammaron, store manager at the RadioShack in the Schuylkill Mall, said he could not speak about the news from corporate.
"I haven't been told anything," he said.
The story is similar at the Fairlane Village mall.
Sudhir Mehra, one of the owners of the mall, said Tuesday that a lease was signed a few months ago for the space at the mall by the retailer.
"They just renewed the lease recently," he said.
He didn't recall the duration of the lease but thought it was for a couple years.
Mehra said the store has been at the mall since at least 2004 and probably before.
Joe Kilburn, an employee RadioShack in the Fairlane Village mall said he didn't know anything about possible closures.
An employee at the store in Tamaqua at 45 Plaza Drive, Hometown Commons, directed comments to the corporate media phone number.
Phone calls and an email message to the company were not returned Tuesday.