RadioShack CEO Gooch steps down

(AP) FORT WORTH, Texas - RadioShack CEO James Gooch has agreed to step down immediately and is leaving its board of directors, the struggling consumer electronics company said Wednesday.

It said that Chief Financial Officer Dorvin Lively will serve as its interim CEO.

RadioShack Corp. said that it is in the process of hiring an executive search firm to help find a new CEO and that it may consider both internal and external candidates. Gooch became its CEO in May 2011.

In July, RadioShack posted an unexpected second-quarter loss and suspended its dividend. The chain's troubles are partly due to wider problems in the brick-and-mortar electronics industry and add fuel to the notion that selling consumer electronics in brick-and-mortar stores is becoming less and less viable.

RadioShack and Best Buy Co. are dealing with shoppers who are increasingly moving away from devices like computers and cameras to buy tablets and smartphones, which are less profitable for retailers.

RadioShack's stock has been hit hard. Since the beginning of the year, its shares are down 74 percent. The stock dropped to an all-time low of $2.36 in July. It closed at $2.56 on Tuesday, and slipped 3 cents to $2.53 in premarket trading Wednesday.

The company said in announcing Gooch's departure that its board and Gooch "have agreed" that he would step down as both CEO and the board.

"We thank Jim for his service to the company and wish him well in his future endeavors," chairman Daniel Feehan said in the statement.

Gooch was quoted in the same news release as thanking his fellow board members and "everyone at the company for their strong support" and wished them "great success in the future."

RadioShack, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, has about 4,700 company-run stores in the U.S. and Mexico. It has approximately 1,500 U.S. wireless phone centers and about 1,100 dealer and other outlets worldwide.