NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–At 8pm on Friday, March 27, the George Street RadioShack closed for the last time.

Remaining merchandise was being sold off at 80-90% discounts, and popular items included car chargers for cellular phones, cables, and lots of batteries for various cell phones.

But the electronics store closed for good following Friday’s day of business.  It had been in that location since 1999, one year after the New Brunswick Development Corporation’s Liberty Plaza redevelopment opened.

There was still plenty on the shelves, “because we’ve been getting inventory from other stores that closed down,” an employee said, adding: “We’ve gotten our last box. This is the final of what we have left now.”

“Without the inventory [from stores that closed] we would have been empty a long time ago.”

The RadioShack in North Brunswick has been gone for three weeks, said the employee, explaining that both the Easton Avenue store in Somerset, and the South Plainfield store in Middlesex Mall would remain open.

“Everybody has the opportunity to get transferred to another store,” said the retail worker, who’s been with the chain for almost two years.

He didn’t know how many people were losing their jobs.

Asked if he was disappointed? He said: “It happens.”

As we reported, RadioShack Corporation, which was founded in 1921, filed for bankruptcy on February 5. 

At that time, the electronics retailer had reached an agreement to sell as many as 2,400 of its 4,000 U.S. company-owned stores to hedge fund Standard General L.P.

According to reports, in a court-supervised private auction on Tuesday, March 24, hedge fund Standard General was the leading bidder on 1,470 stores. It has said that it wants to manage the stores with Sprint Corporation and sell phones.

A source familiar with the process told Reuters News Service that Standard General “also committed to keeping some 7,500 RadioShack jobs.”

The chain was once the retailer that everyone went to for electronics, but in the digital age it became increasingly less popular.

Business Reporter at New Brunswick Today | dschatz@nb.today

Dave is an award-winning business reporter who has authored over 200 articles for New Brunswick Today.

Dave is an award-winning business reporter who has authored over 200 articles for New Brunswick Today.