For those who remember the original "Tech store - RadioShack", it's a brand that came to existence in the early 1900's and served as the go-to for DIY techies. Due to multitude of financial and operational missteps, RadioShack had to file for bankruptcy protection (Chapter 11) in early 2015. In late 2020, Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), announced that it had purchased the iconic brand and its related assets.

“The RadioShack brands have resonated with consumers for nearly 100 years, and we are confident RadioShack’s relaunch as a cutting-edge ecommerce company will amplify the awareness of this iconic brand internationally,” said Alex Mehr, CEO of REV. 

Tai Lopez, Executive Chairman of REV added, “We were impressed with both the strong existing sales and sales potential of the Radioshack.com and related websites across the globe, including the U.S., Canada, India, Australia, Europe and China. Our approach builds off the existing strength of extraordinary brands such as RadioShack and supports our mission of transforming these beloved entities into Internet-first companies.”

Video summary of the article:

REV's vision for the brand? 

Repurpose RadioShack for decentralized finance, or DeFi. The idea is to create a decentralized exchange (DEX) [1], allowing a way for users to easily move in and out of different tokens, à la Uniswap and Sushiswap. This is different than likes of Coinbase, which are more of centralized exchanges. 

Whilst in early stages, according to RadioShack web site, here's how they envision reaching the end-game (excerpts are taken directly from RadioShack.com as of Jan 14th 2021).

What is RadioShack DeFi:

RadioShack is a 100 year old brand embedded into the global consciousness… and we are going to lead the way for blockchain tech to reach mainstream adoption by other large brands.

The problem to solve (The Challenge):

There is a real generational gap between the average crypto buyer and the average business decision maker.

This demographic difference creates a substantial psychological barrier to crypto adoption.
‍
We will be the bridge between the CEO’s who lead the world’s corporations and the new world of cryptocurrencies.

How to solve this problem (Partnering with Atlas USV):
RadioShack DeFi will start with a token swap. We believe this is the lowest hanging fruit among the many defi opportunities.
‍
Our symbiosis with Atlas USV will allow us to offer the most efficient and competitive swap on the market.
Why does REV think the pivot will be a success?

REV was founded by Alex Mehr and Tai Lopez in 2019, as a means to transform brands that have struggled to succeed in the age of ecommerce. Responsible for brands and products that have generated more than $1 billion in sales, including a $258 million exit for Mehr's Zoosk, REV has set their sights on acquiring distressed retail brands with global renown. 

Between NFTs, DeFi, DAO, Metaverse and crypto payments; firms worldwide have been dabbling in digital assets. REV predicts that executives, who increasingly see crypto as legitimate asset, will dive headfirst into it, issuing their own tokens. To do that, they'll want a trusted partner, which Lopez and Mehr hope will be RadioShack.
Lopez says some parts of RadioShack's crypto ambitions will only be available initially to people outside of the U.S. to steer clear of any U.S. regulatory issues, though he did not go into specifics.

"If this becomes a little bit more of a trustworthy, well-understood process, the demand for it is going to be super high," Mehr has suggested. "That's the bet." 

[1] DEX:  Decentralized exchanges, are a set of smart contracts that enable trade cryptocurrency tokens for other cryptocurrency tokens.