Radioshack CEO steps down

FORT WORTH, Texas — Struggling consumer electronics company RadioShack says CEO James Gooch has agreed to step down immediately and is leaving its board of directors.

The company says CFO Dorvin Lively will serve as its interim CEO while it looks for a permanent replacement.

RadioShack Corp. said it is in the process of hiring an executive search firm to help find a new CEO and that it may consider both internal and external candidates.

Gooch became its CEO in May 2011 as part of the company’s succession plan.

Gooch, who joined RadioShack in 2006 as its CFO, took over as CEO when Julian Day retired.

In July, RadioShack posted an unexpected second-quarter loss and suspended its dividend.

The chain’s troubles are partly due to wider problems in the brick-and-mortar electronics industry and add fuel to the notion that selling consumer electronics in brick-and-mortar stores is becoming less and less viable.

RadioShack and rival consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co. are dealing with shoppers who are increasingly moving away from devices like computers and cameras to buy tablets and smartphones, which are less profitable for retailers. RadioShack’s stock has been hit hard. Since the beginning of the year, its shares are down 74 per cent.

The stock dropped to an all-time low of $2.36 in July. It edged up two cents to $2.58 in morning trading Wednesday.

The company said in announcing Gooch’s departure that its board and Gooch have agreed that he would step down as both CEO and the board.

RadioShack, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, has about 4,700 company-run stores in the U.S. and Mexico.