With the constant 20% off coupons, and bare shelves, Fry's has to be circling the drain. The number of computer and monitors has been decreased so much, that one can only wonder why. Their creditors must not be extending them credit. Maybe all of their sales now are purely a cash grab.
I really wish I was wrong about this, but the writing has to be on the walls.
Visited their Tempe, AZ location yesterday. They had pretty much no inventory. The entrance section ( around 3000 square feet ) pretty much just had pallets of water spaced out to make look busy. Visible isles had one or two items deep to make it look stocked, typically paper, Pepsi or batteries, and inside isles were just plain empty. I would be surprised if it makes it much longer. When I asked for a drone, the associate said we might be out, I said you probably out of everything. His response: yeah, we are probably going out of biz. Realizing what he said, he followed with: well they don't tell me these things but look around.
@YbiPZw8-2Yuzb: Best guess is that they're going to try to make it til Black Friday to dump the remaining items that haven't sold at full price. Kitchen appliances, electric generators, flat panel TVs, Bluetooth speakers, etc., as well as odds and ends like camera cases and HDMI cables at blowout prices. Until BF, it will be a skeleton crew of 5 employees per store working.
No reason to buy anything now until the official liquidation begins. Since this company is privately held, and not sure how this works exactly, they may have already filed for bankruptcy. (Is this legally public information in their state of incorporation?)
Their repositioning/restocking spiel is utter nonsense and a distraction upper management is probably attempting for whatever reason. They're gone by end of year, guaranteed. Retail is a brutal business to be in if you can't compete on quality of customer service or lower prices at scale especially since they're online offerings are basically nil. They did try to sell things via their sad website and via Google Express, another Google service no one really uses unless there's deep discounts.
I am wondering how long can Fry's last while hemorrhaging money? If they don't carry inventory that the public wants, they can't generate revenue. All the while, they still need to pay the employees, electricity, property taxes, etc.
I was at the Milton GA store over this past weekend and its pretty much the same as others have said. They have taken several shelves completely down and just have large empty areas now, the shelfs that are left are half empty. I love frys its always been my goto for electronic components and computer odds and ends that I dont want to wait for. Sad day if they are really going out of business soon.
Went by Anaheim a few days ago. I could count the cars in the parking lot on both hands. It wasn't as empty as Fountain Valley, but there is a feeling of doom in the air. I left and went over to the MicroCenter in Tustin to get the items I needed. It was busy - but they are reorganizing internally as well. Shelves are still well stocked, the store is slightly reorganized in the computer parts section. Almost no 3.5" HDDs left. All the 1 TB drives were 2.5".
Within the past week i have been to the burbank and city of industry stores in CA. All the comments here are right on target. I cant figure out why the family decided to give up and not adapt to new market conditions. Margins They outlived radio shack, circuit city, and several dozen small electronics chains in the los angeles area. They survived massive expansion to stores outside CA, a couple of recessions, and whatever the 2007-2012 event was. But no longer. Now they are in a death spiral. Good bye old friend. If you were a horse,
I'd take you out to the back 40 and put you down. Sad.
I've been going to the Wilsonville Oregon store since it was the Incredible Universe. I've spent plenty of money at Fry's over the years, and since retired several years ago, I was in the store around twice per week. From what I can glean, this is all about "Fry's management not paying its vendors." I have heard vendor stories about payments slipping from two months to quarterly, to six months, and even a year before getting paid. The bottom line has been that the store hasn't received ANY new stock for at least six months. The loading dock was on the north end of the building, by the computer section, and you could always hear a ton of noise over there – forklift trucks moving stuff virtually every single day. I would say that this activity stopped somewhere around the end of the first quarter, and then it just stopped. And now there are bare shelves everywhere – and especially in the dedicated "storage areas" beyond the actual sales floor. I get the impression that Fry's may well have stopped paying its vendors some time in 2018 – it may be that they didn't pay any vendors during that entire year. At any rate, somewhere around the end of the first quarter of 2019, all of the shipments absolutely stopped. And Fry's has just been shuffling things around to fill up space with whatever stock they have left, or just leaving bare shelves. Lots of things are just plain gone – the entire Bose display, which was a full aisle all by itself. The "body cavity check" when you left the store. The "podium" cashier positions in the computer area, the computer parts area, the software area, and so on. A couple of weeks ago, I saw exactly four employees in the store, and figured that there might have been a half-dozen in the store at most, and then I passed the employee parking lot on my way out, and counted exactly FIVE cars. I have absolutely no belief that Fry's will rise from the dead here – the stores are just about as fully closed down as they can be, and still keep the doors open daily. They might make it through Christmas, but there just can't be any reason to continue after that.
I worked at the Renton, WA Fry’s Electronics for 3 years before I decided enough was enough. The treatment of the workers is absolute garbage. I started as a Cage Associate which basically you just sit in the cage where all the computer components are and give them to the cashiers when a paper prints out. Felt like an animal. Would constantly get asked if I felt like one from customers. I finally moved into sales, money was good, interactions were fine most of the time and I learned a lot about components, security, networking and just a lot of things in general. Once I moved into Management Trainee, I realized quick that this position was b—s—. You get the same pay as your sales associates but you have to do all the manager/supervisor sh–, so you really don’t get the same because you have to focus on making sure things are getting done correctly. I left right before the shelves started getting bare and I could never be happier with that decision. I’ll be happy that it’s gone, but sad that they couldn’t fix their issues with the company. It used to be awesome.
Anyone who says it's tariff related is a complete mÖron.
If it were that then other stores besides Fry's would be affected. Amazon and Newegg doesn't seem to be affected. If anything prices on many computer components have gone down. Look at ddr4 ram, you can get 16GB for as low as $70. One couldn't even get 8GB of ram for $70 before 2016.
It's not the tariff's - believe me. . this chain was having problems wayyy before tariffs came into play. Every other retailer has PLENTY of stock.
Went to the Arlington, Texas store yesterday and it was nearly empty. I only wanted speaker wire and they had none Salesman told me it was the fault of the President and his tariffs. I then ordered a 100foot roll from Amazon and received
It today even though it was made in China!
Possible that the Chinese trade issue.
Went to the Phoenix store yesterday and it is about 2/3 empty, wasted trip.
I asked one of the employees if they were closing, he told me No and that they are having issues with some of their vendors, I told him they should pay their bills and they won't have issues.
They may as well close because they have nothing worth while and people will just stop going there if it's empty, I will never step foot in Fry's Electronics again and I will be spreading the word.
Another mismanaged business going away, sad.
The Austin store went downhill quickly. Couple months ago it was getting a little sparse, and it was hot in the store, but it still seemed like it was in business. I stopped in on 9/13 and it was a ghost town. Oddly, the bar on the other side of the parking lot also closed, maybe it's just a coincidence...
9/16/19 I went to the Burbank CA store and it was a ghost town and empty shelves fronted with a single item. These themed stores are great though - and this SCI-FI themed space should get turned into a SCI-FI or Comic-Book Museum! Call it the STAN LEE MUSEUM OF Comic-Book Culture! Focus on Comics, Animation, Toys and the Movies.
Downers Grove IL ... same story. Empty shelves
Fry’s retail stores are closing, only to be converted to an online store. Fry’s will continue to email they’re daily ads, but the products that you will see won’t be available on the store shelves. If you provide ypur zip code, tour merchandise will be shipped to the nearest store or your home, provided that you pay a shipping fee
Forget black Friday.
I'm guessing they'll close at the end of the month or even end of October.
You can't have a black Friday sale if you have no merchandise to sell.
Costa Mesa. Almost everything is gone. Shelves are bare except for giant TV’s.
I stopped by the Renton Store today and they shelfs are completely empty. There is hardly any products and the stock person told me that they were renegotiating the terms. I only counted about 5 people in the store.
The person at the register told me that they have not been told if they are closing or not. For the looks at the current state, i don't count on them being open in the near future.
Long live Frys....
I visited the Las Vegas store on 9/14/19 and was shocked. The large inventory racks that they usually access with forklifts were completely empty. Only about 15 employees in the entire store. I Was told by a clerk that they are 'waiting for new stock to arrive'. On the one hand I will miss them but on the other, I can remember many times where I was treated poorly and had to fight for what was advertised.
I then went over to Best Buy. The store was busy, full of stock, and I was treated well.
Since Fry's probably owns a good amount of their locations they have the luxury of not selling for pennies on the dollars to liquidation companies. They basically are doing the same thing those liquidation companies did with CompUSA, Circuit City, OfficeMax/Depot. Bare minimum staff, just keep moving leftover stock around until someone is crazy enough to buy junk. Though in Fry's case we're not seeing the 50,60, 70, 80,90% markdown signs nor are decreasing prices that much. Once they're down to nothing, which from the looks of it is pretty close, they'll then just close and sell the land.
The Duluth store in GA will probably become another car dealership overflow. Alpharetta, GA store might be more of a challenge though that real estate probably will fetch a fair return.
I worked at the San Diego location - Although only a stock clerk, I dressed as a Salesman would, and every chance I had, I'd try to be helpful to the Customers (Easy for me, since I started with Electronics in 1968 and Computers in 1971! - I closed my own Computer Store in Tennessee to go to California and was hired on by Fry's) - Many, many Customers spoke of how bad they were treated by the 'BoxKickers' and how refreshing it was to have someone take time to see WHAT they needed and HELP them gather the items! - Since I wasn't a "Real" Salesman, I'd pass the completed Sale to a friendly Salesman, hoping it may help me (someday) become a Salesman too! No... Management felt I was taking too much time helping the Customers - One time a Lady asked to speak with the Manager! - I led her over to him, and she spoke of how delighted she felt getting help from me and saying how often she did NOT have such service! Sounds good, right? WRONG!! I was verbally reprimanded once the lady left, and told to NEVER bring a Customer to him again! I came back to Tennessee and re-opened my Store...
I will never miss Fry's. Indifferent service and overpriced goods. I buy everything online. They are no better than K-Mart or Sears. They are a dead man walking
I just returned from the Duluth, Georgia store (9/15/19) and it too had very little inventory. A lot of bare shelves, and empty aisles. I was looking for some push button switches and I had no luck. The audio area had little stock and there were only 3 flat screen tvs mounted on the display wall. Things are not looking good. Of course things are not looking good for a lot of 'brick and mortar' stores i.e. Sear, Toys R US, Barnes & Noble, and many others. Internet shopping is the way to go.
I visited Fry's today in Las Vegas. A lot of their inventory seem to be missing and not replaced. For instance, their laptop display section only had about half of the computers on display in the available slots on the counter. Over in the audio section, three-quarters of the slots on the display of car stereo head units were empty. This is quite a change from when I visited them last perhaps six months ago. I don't give this company much longer to go.
I am wondering whether they may close soon and their parking would be converted over to the use of the new Raiders stadium being built nearby.
I was just at Fry's in Woodland Hills today band the shelves are pretty empty and where there was a big help counter near the computers it's all just empty space. I asked one of the employees if they were going out of business and while the shelves are empty and they said they're going to get more inventory in and they're not going out of business. When I brought the two USB drives up to the checkout counter I asked the girl who was behind the desk if they were going out of business and she said no and I said why are so many shelves empty she said we've been having trouble with our vendors hahaha. I could tell they were blatantly lying to me especially with their expressions.
Haven’t been to the Renton store in a month or two. Went today and the place was a ghost town. Entire aisles were empty. I almost teared up. My random trips to Fry’s we’re always a little stress releasing adventure. Hope it isn’t as bad as it looks.
Fry's closing or not is a dinosaur. It's done a mediocre job of learning how to market or serve newer shoppers, its customer service is lackadaisical, and all of their stores (especially the Manhattan Beach one) is sorely in need of a remodel into a more modern electronics store. Over all, they're okay in a pinch but frustrating to deal with at best. Nothing fantastic that I couldn't get elsewhere and with better service for the cost.
Please, by all means, rip off the bandaid and k–l this dinosaur already.
I just visited the Woodland Hills store (9/14/19). The shelves are bare, few customers, the parking lot nearly empty, and this was Saturday. There was no network stuff. No routers, no switches, just some short ethernet cables. Nothing for me to buy.
From the looks of things, they are going out of business, regardless of what they say. If they are not going out of business, they're doing everything to close down. Once a customer comes, and sees this is no longer the Fry's they remember, but a ghost town with rows and rows of nothing, they won't be coming back.
I see the same situation with the Fry’s in Sunnyvale, CA. A lot of empty shelves; the only stocked shelves contain the low cost imports of useless beauty & health products yuck
Went to the Fry's in Austin twice. Once for a router and the 2nd time for a switch. Both times the shelves were empty for the products. I asked am employee why on-line they did not show 'sold out' and he replied it was because someone must have returned the product. Pure BS. Other items were also not on the shelves. In fact half the TVs advertised "on sale" were also not stocked.
I have seen companies fold before, and Fry's looks like it is in a death throng.
Drove all the way to the clear lake /Webster store South of Houston to find it empty. Couldn't even get a USB wireless adapter. The one employee I was able to find I asked if they were going out of business and he said no. I told him I drove 30 minutes to get there and could have just gone to Walmart or micro center had I known it was going to be empty and there was no excuse that not to have a USB adapter If they're not going out of business. Employee rudely told me to "have a good day sir " and walked away... This definitely looks like they're demise. This particular location has been falling apart for years pieces of the roof and entrance literally falling apart water leaking etc. It still looks pretty cool inside with all the space stuff and the 101 scale mock up of the space station, Fry's customer service and attitude towards their employees has been bad for a long time. I really wish micro center would open up more than one location in this really big city. I understand they only open up one location per city, but in a huge said he like micro center that doesn't make sense when you can hit multiple microcenters in different states in the Northeast closer together than what they would be in Houston.
Went to the WIlsonville store today (9/11/19) and was shocked to see how empty it was. Wandered around looking for a couple things and finally found a clerk who took me to where what I wanted should have been. Shelves were empty! I asked him if they were closing and he said "No, we'll be fully restocked by the end of the month." I thought "good luck on that, pal" and left the store empty-handed. I won't bee surprised to read that they've closed in a few weeks. RIP Fry's! (I've been going to this store since is was a Radio Shack Incredible Universe store! It's just to bad. What happened?
Just left Fry's Oxnard, nobody to check my sales slip with a pink highlighter... I marked the receipt my self... Sad...
Employees walking around dressed in street clothes. Shelves bare...When this Oxnard store opened I was so happy I didn't have to go to Woodland Hills store anymore. Piano Man was playing music. Fry's Cafe had good coffee, I spent so much time here.
I came to this store on Grand Opening day and stayed from 11 am till 6 pm was thrilled at everything. I wonder if the employees really know they are doomed... Another Icon dead...
Just got back from Fry's Las Vegas and it was a ghost-town. Fortunately, they had the PC CPU fan I was looking for, other than that, about 95% of the shelves and displays were empty.
@2Oyap me too - I wander if Best Buy is the next one to fold.
Just went into our local Frys. It was so empty! All the shelves were bare and the overstock shelves along the sides were completely empty! Even their TV and appliance sections were bare and the lights were dimmer. We asked if they were going out of business and the guy kinda stammered and said "we dont know, maybe in a little while". I think that says enough! I'm thinking they might make it to the end of the year but not longer. My fiance is very upset, we always went there for the quick wires and equipment he needed. For me, it's more of a nostalgic sadness. This Frys (in houston) has been here for as long as I can remember and the inside is decked out in space stuff. It will definitely be missed!
Makes you wonder if Best Buy is next.
I will miss then when they're gone. Their selection of merchandise was unparalleled (which undoubtedly also contributed to their downfall). Need a Molex connector? Some solder, or a 1/2" to 1/4" headphone adapter? A candy bar? They had it. But we've got Amazon, right? /s. Be careful what you wish for.
For those who knew what they wanted, Frys was a paradise. Some will say that their customer service was the downfall, but if that was the case, they would have closed long ago. It was always lacking, even during the days when crowds would fill the parking lot for the cheap hot dogs/sodas and be 20 deep waiting for checkout even with multiple registers open.
People shop differently now, and one of Fry's big advantages, selection, was negated by Amazon (though it still is lacking in comparison in some areas). The combination of the Retail Apocalypse, internal mismanagement (including overly generous return policies, which lead to "rental" abuse), and a different tech world was always going to be very difficult to overcome.