RadioShack, a 25-year-old consumer electronics retailer, has picked Toronto-based Young & Rubicam as its first agency-of-record.
y&r won the business over competitors Dentsu Cadence, Holmes Donin Alloul, Ranscombe & Co. and Vaughn Whelan & Partners Advertising.
The latter had been working on broadcast projects for RadioShack for the past three years.
RadioShack has been handling media, flyers, catalogues and all print advertising in-house.
The company’s business is estimated to be worth as much as $16 million.
RadioShack, which is headquartered in Barrie, Ont., operates 450 corporate stores and sells its products through another 400-plus authorized sales centres.
It recently signed a management and distribution deal with Rogers Cantel that calls for RadioShack to manage 100 new Cantel stores.
As part of the agreement, RadioShack is distributing Cantel cellular and wireless products exclusively at its locations while all of the new Cantel stores will contain RadioShack Express, an area featuring top-selling products such as batteries and calculators.
