When the first Batteries Plus opened in 1988 in Green Bay, Wis. it was a groundbreaking retail concept, in many ways heralding a new era of personal computing and electronics. Cell phones had just entered the scene, the internet was in its early days and daily tasks were quickly being overtaken by newfangled portable devices like boom boxes, cordless phones and camcorders.
But that same wave of electronic innovation that gave rise to Batteries Plus also put a drain on the retailer’s business as ecommerce began to take hold.
