Dive Brief:

• RadioShack will likely close 500 stores this year, although there’s no word about where or exactly when.

• When the Fort Worth, Texas, electronics chain begin its restructuring last year, company officials then said it was concentrating on revamping product lines and freshening its brand and unlikely to close stores.

• The holiday season interfered with that plan, though, with muted sales and stiff competition that required steep, margin-eating discounts.

Dive Insight:

The Monday after the Super Bowl, RadioShack got kudos and even a thumbs-up from Wall Street in the form of a 7% stock jump due to an adorkable, self-deprecating ad that poked fun at its own past-due image. Then, on Tuesday, reality hit  — with the news that the electronics retailer will close 500 of its 4,500 stores nationwide. Competition in the electronics retail arena remains fierce, as rivals like Best Buy can also attest. But if RadioShack can go beyond talk of boosting its image and brand to really pleasing its customers, then 500 stores will just be par for the course at this point in its restructuring.