Bell Canada, which apparently has lots of money to spare, has decided to buy up The Source, the overpriced electronics retailer which used to be Radio Shack and whose parent company went bankrupt in November.

Coverage from, well, everyone: Globe, Star, CBC, Forbes, WSJ, Reuters, Digital Home

Bell says it plans to use the outlets to hawk Bell merchandise like Bell Mobility cellphones (once the exclusivity contract with Rogers ends this year) and Bell TV satellite service.

The deal seems to make perfect sense, as both companies offer crappy product, have horrible customer service, charge way too much and yet survive because people who don't know any better recognize the brand.

Any bets on whether Bell will fix the many fundamental problems with The Source's business model?

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Trouvez l'erreur

Got a flyer from The Source a couple of weeks back. I noticed this ad on one of the inside pages. It caught my eye because it looked unusual.

I guess that whole bankruptcy thing means you gotta cut costs, which evidently include fact-checkers.

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The Source outlets in Canada (including this one in the Eaton Centre downtown) remain open for business

Dear Circuit City,

I've never been to any of your U.S. stores, so I can't really comment on why you're facing bankruptcy right now. But I have been to The Source, your Canadian outlets that used to be Radio Shacks, and it doesn't surprise me that your Canadian subsidiary is also filing for bankruptcy protection.

I realize it's convenient to blame this on the economic downturn, but may I offer some other suggestions:

• You took a recognized (if imperfect) brand and replaced it with one that nobody gets or relates to.
• You changed from an electronic component store to a home electronics store, trying to compete against a behemoth you had no chance against
• Instead of innovating, you copied their ideas without improving on them
• Your big-ticket items are more expensive than identical ones at Best Buy and Future Shop, and you have much less selection
• Your stores are tiny, a problem you have only recently been trying to fix
• You sell cheap plastic junk that doesn't work and that nobody wants
• You fired specialists and replaced them with minimum-wage morons, a plan which quickly backfired (*cough*)
  
• You have no morals, which has gotten you in court several times against customers and your own employees

And yet, shockingly, you're in the hole. I guess that means this job you just posted in TMR isn't getting filled...

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