Can a Hedge Fund Save RadioShack?

The question is if Jaimie Zimmerman’s stock purchase in RadioShack means the worst is over for RadioShack. The short answer is the odds don’t favor a comeback yet. And it may not come at all.

Zimmerman’s Litespeed Management disclosed it had bought about 8.1 million shares in RadioShack in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing, disclosed on Friday, doesn’t say how much Litespeed paid for the shares. They hit an all-time low of $2.02 on Friday. So Litespeed’s investment is probably not more than $17 million.

Early Wednesday, the shares were at $2.51, up 35 cents and nine cents below its $2.60 close on Dec. 31.

The filing offers no clue on Zimmerman’s intentions. But Zimmerman does have a reputation as an excellent analyst of companies and, according to Institutional Investor, “specializes in distressed debt and special situation investments like mergers and spinoffs.” And here is the key observation: She “particularly likes troubled companies with viable businesses.”

Zimmerman’s stake could be seen as the second bet on the company in a week. On January 13, RadioShack announced it had hired John Feray as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Feray had been senior vice president – finance and strategy at Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG).

The company that Zimmerman and Feray are involved in IS troubled. Sales through the third quarter of 2013 were off nearly 16 percent from a year ago. It lost $2.07 a share in the process, down from a loss of 76 cents through the first three quarter of 2012. The stock has collapsed about 90 percent since March 2010.

The problems include a lack of clarity about its vision, fierce competition, and what many feel is a dated store concept. Most of its stores are small, though it is developing larger stores with a larger selection of products. The retail environment is terrible. Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY) missed its holiday sales targets because it was forced to discount heavily. And RadioShack has to compete against not only Best Buy but such chains as Fry’s. And then there’s Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and the pressure it exerts on all retailers.

Those old rumors that Best Buy, or anyone else, was interested in acquiring RadioShack have come and gone. In fact, the Best Buy hope is ancient history, and RadioShack was not able to produce another acquirer either. Best Buy has been part victim of Amazon, but RadioShack has been a victim of everyone. It is also pretty easy to argue that RadioShack has also been a victim of its own efforts.

The wonder is that RadioShack is still alive. But Zimmerman and Feray apparently think it can survive. They’ll need luck, a lot of luck.