RadioShack Corp. replaced its finance chief with a longtime restructuring adviser, shaking up the struggling retailer's top management as it runs precariously low on cash.
Chief Financial Officer John Feray left the company Friday after seven months on the job. The electronics chain, which hasn't posted a profit since 2011, tasked AlixPartners Managing Director Holly Etlin to work as interim CFO in his place. Ms. Etlin, 57 years old, held the job before. She was interim CFO from July 2013 until Mr. Feray, a former Dollar General Corp. executive, started in February.
The executive switch comes in the middle of a frantic effort to stabilize the company's balance sheet before it runs out of cash. The company last week warned it could be forced to liquidate or seek bankruptcy protection if it can't find a way to improve its finances soon.
RadioShack has been losing market share to low-cost retailers and online rivals for years. A focus on mobile phones and wireless accessories failed to pull the company out of its downward spiral. As of Aug. 2, the company's cash stockpile had dwindled to $30.5 million, representing about $6,800 for each of its 4,485 stores, though the chain also had access to $152 million under a credit line.
The company is considering a $585 million financing package proposed by hedge fund Standard General LP and investment bank UBS AG as a way to keep the chain out of bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter. The funds would be used to replace loan and credit facilities from lender GE Capital and soften the terms of those loans, the people said.
RadioShack on Thursday said it is working on a recapitalization plan that it anticipates announcing "in the near term." But if that plan were to fail to materialize, the company may seek bankruptcy protection.
Ms. Etlin was on the RadioShack team that last year helped the company secure an $835 million loan package. Executives said the package would give them ample time to overhaul their stores with a new, less-cluttered format designed to spur sales.
RadioShack hired Mr. Feray from Dollar General, where he worked for six years and was responsible for the budget retailer's financial planning and strategy.
Mr. Feray took RadioShack's offer because it offered him a chance to work as finance chief while again living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a person close to the matter said. Mr. Feray was unavailable for comment.
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