InterTAN
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InterTAN is a Canadian consumer electronics retailer that operates stores under the banners "The Source by Circuit City" and a single "THS Studio" location. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Circuit City Stores Inc, as of May 19, 2004. InterTAN is based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Rogers Plus used to be a division of InterTAN for Rogers Communications, but is now wholly owned by Rogers Communications. As well, conversion or closure of all Upclose and G-Wiz stores was completed in 2006, as well as all but one THS Studio.
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[edit] History
InterTAN began as a subsidiary of Tandy Corporation, its name being a shortened version of International Tandy. Originally, InterTAN was consisted of operations in Canada and Australia. The company became a separate entity from Tandy Corporation in 1986, and has since been reduced to being the parent company for the Canadian consumer electronics business only, divesting itself of the other properties during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Until June 30, 2005, InterTAN ran stores under the banner RadioShack in Canada, as it had a licensing agreement with RadioShack Corporation until 2010 to use the American company's trademarks. However, after a purchase of InterTAN by Circuit City Stores Inc in 2004, RadioShack Corporation sued to have that agreement terminated. While that lawsuit was approved in the State of Texas, it was not legally binding in Canada. InterTan filed a lawsuit in Canada stating that since the purchase by Circuit City Stores Inc was for only 80% of InterTAN, the latter was still a viable company and thus entilted to keep using the name RadioShack. Both InterTAN and Radioshack came to a temporary deal by which InterTAN is banned from using the former moniker since July 1, 2005, and as such, all corporate retail consumer electronics stores, and most dealer stores, formerly known as RadioShack are known as The Source by Circuit City. The matter was settled in late 2006, however the details of the settlement were not made public.
InterTAN had entered into arrangements with Rogers Communications to run a chain of stores under the Rogers Plus banner, using InterTAN's knowledge of retail operations for the day to day management of the stores. This partnership was renewed as part of the Circuit City acquisition, and was set to expire in January 2007.
In April, 2002, InterTAN, already one of Canada's largest battery retailers with its RadioShack stores, acquired certain assets and locations of Battery Plus and merged it into its retail operations.
In the first two months of 2007, InterTAN underwent drastic changes. By closing all but one THS Studio location, as well as all but one Battery Plus location, InterTAN began to focus on its core operation: The Source By Circuit City. InterTAN continued closing under performing locations through the end of February 2007, resulting in the loss of employment for almost 100 Canadians. The positions varied from sales associates, store managers, store assistant managers, district managers, service centre managers, even regional vice presidents.
Circuit City announced that they had retained Goldman Sachs to explore options (which may include the sale) of InterTAN in Q1, 2007.
[edit] UpClose
During the third quarter of 2006, InterTAN made the decision to begin converting existing UpClose locations into The Source By Circuit City locations.
[edit] Rogers Plus
As of January 29th, 2007, Rogers Retail has assumed control of Rogers Plus.
