Charles David Tandy (15 May 1918 – 4 November 1978) was the chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of the

Tandy Corporation Tandy Corporation was an American family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Tandy Leather was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store. By the end of the 1950s, under the tutelage of then-CEO Charles Tandy, ...

Early life

Charles Tandy was born in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

to Dave L. Tandy, who ran the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company with his friend Norton Hinckley. He was educated at the R. L. Paschal High School.

Career

Tandy entered his father's business at the age of 12. In 1940 he graduated from

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

. He then spent some time at the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

before joining the US Navy for the remainder of World War II. While in the Navy he set a record for selling war bonds. While a supply officer in the Navy, he noticed sailors being taught knitting and needlepoint as part of recuperative therapy. Thinking that men would prefer leatherwork to needlework, he established a system of craft work for hospitalized service personnel. Its success led him, on leaving the Navy, to set up a mail order business, Tandycraft, that became a major part of his father's business. Tandy developed his small family leather business into an international corporation. He first turned it into a leather craft company when shoe rationing in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

almost killed the business, and later expanded into selling leather and tools to make such products as wallets. After a struggle over the company, which saw the Hinckley name dropped, the company was renamed to

. In 1963, Tandy acquired the ailing

RadioShack RadioShack, formerly RadioShack Corporation, is an American retailer founded in 1921. At its peak in 1999, RadioShack operated over 8,000 worldwide stores named RadioShack or Tandy Electronics in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Austra ...

, a chain of nine retail stores in the Boston area; the chain grew to more than 400 across the country. Tandy said “We’re not looking for the guy who wants to spend his entire paycheck on a sound system”, rather RadioShack sought customers "looking to save money by buying cheaper goods and improving them through modifications and accessorizing", making it common among "nerds" and "kids aiming to excel at their science fairs". In Tandy's last years his major project was the revitalization of

downtown Fort Worth Downtown Fort Worth is the central business district of Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Most of Fort Worth's tallest buildings and skyscrapers are located downtown. Attractions Sundance Square Sundance Square began as an effort by Sid Bass t ...

, his hometown e.g. the construction of the eight‐block

Tandy Center City Place is a mixed-use facility featuring two 20-story buildings in central Fort Worth, Texas. The complex was formerly known as Tandy Center and served as the corporate headquarters for RadioShack (formerly Tandy Corporation) for many year ...

. Tandy died of a heart attack in his sleep, on 4 November 1978 and was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas.

Awards and recognition

* 1976: Business Executive of the Year by

Texas Wesleyan University Texas Wesleyan University is a private Methodist university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1890 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. Its mascot is th ...

* 1976: Dateline Award by Fort Worth Advertising Club * 1976: Spirit of Enterprise Award of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce * 1976: Outstanding Chief Executive Officer of the Year in Merchandising and Services Category by Financial World * 1991: Academy of Achievement Sales & Marketing Hall of Fame Induction by SMEI

References

External links

Who was Charles David Tandy?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tandy, Charles 1918 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American manufacturing businesspeople Burials at Greenwood Memorial Park (Fort Worth, Texas) Texas Christian University alumni