Brent Reaney
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 28/04) - A second Yellowknife Radio Shack store is expected to open this summer, in Centre Square Mall, but the existing store's proprietor is upset because he wasn't consulted by the store's corporate owner.

"It seems they corporately decided to be in this town without seeking any input from the dealer that's had the franchise for 29 years," said Roy Williams, Yellowknife's authorized Radio Shack dealer.

But InterTAN Canada, the company which holds the rights to the Radio Shack name in Canada, said it didn't need Williams' input.

"There isn't any protected territory for dealers. If a market grows, we add another store," said Ean Daoust, Sr. vice-president sales channels for InterTAN Canada.

The corporation has a network of 500 company-operated stores and 340 authorized Radio Shack dealers like Williams.

In 2003, the YK Centre store recorded the second highest sales out of approximately 300 outlets, Williams said.

It is not unusual for a city of 20,000 to 30,000 people to have two stores, Daoust said, citing Orillia, Ontario, a city of about 28,000 people as an example.

Market 'bigger than YK'

And Jennifer Marchant, general manager of Centre Square, believes this market is much bigger than the city.

"The market for Yellowknife is not just Yellowknife; the trading area is the whole NWT," she said.

Williams isn't convinced there's room for two stores. "I don't think the market is big enough and that will be for them (InterTAN) to find out," he said.

Williams was first informed of InterTAN's planned expansion into Yellowknife during a conference call in mid-February, Daoust said.

But Williams said he wasn't informed of a visit made by the corporate head office to the city in late January to scout out the area.

"They didn't call me and tell us they were coming. They made no explanations to my staff as to why they were here," said Williams.

Williams has sold products under the Radio Shack banner since 1975 but his store is legally registered in the NWT as Home Electronics.

The new Radio Shack will occupy the space left by the closing of Bentley Leathers on May 9 as well as the vacant area to the rear of Bentley, formerly JaySet.