Radio Shack's Future in Fairfield Unclear

Turns out I wasn't the only one who was wondering if the Radio Shack on Black Rock Turnpike will be one of the 1,100 stores the company is closing.

An employee told me I was the thirteenth person to ask that day — and it was around lunchtime.

She told me the same thing she had told the dozen people before me: she didn't know.

The Radio Shack store at 2071 Black Rock Turnpike has been there for at least 30 or 40 years. The one downtown, at 913 Post Road, has been nestled in that shopping center for sometime, too.

But, on a whole, the company is not doing so well, it turns out.

Radio Shack's year-end financial statement reported a net-loss of $400.2 million in 2013, after reporting losses of $139 million in 2012.

In reaction to the losses, which sent stock prices tumbling by more than 17 percent on March 4, according to the Wall Street Journal, the company announced that it would be closing up to 1,100 of its “under-performing stores." That represents about a quarter of its 4,300 stores.

In a statement on its website, Radio Shack CEO Joseph C. Magnacca said the company would be focused on new “concept stores” which have shown “positive response.” He added that Radio Shack's “brand equity remains strong.”

The company also secured more than $800 million in “asset-based credit financing” last quarter, in an effort to refinance existing debt and keep the company afloat through the end of the year.

"Without minimizing the challenges ahead, we have a detailed strategic path to profitability based upon the five pillars of our turnaround," Magnacca said. "Our entire team is focused on execution as we work to improve our performance in the coming year."