Trademarks & The Name Game: Why Change?

Lately we seem to be hearing more about "branding", "maintaining your brand", "creating your own brand", etc. etc. There once was a TV show called "Fame Is the Name of the Game". In business it's really "Fame is the Game of the Name". So why would a company with a famous 90 year old brand like "Radio Shack" change its name to "The Shack"? Does it make sense to do that? Here is an interesting article that summarizes the recent change from "Radio Shack" to "The Shack" along with some other famous name changes such as Galvin Manufacturing Corp. to Motorola Inc. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. to Panasonic Corp. And here is a well-written critique of Radio Shack's decision to change its name.