Thread regarding Fry's Electronics layoffs

So Sad wes just at the store in Fremont Ca and the shelves are so empty I hope they dont close Frys is one of my favorite stores.

Saw the same thing at Renton Store in Washington State. Nothing I wanted was available and most shelves were bare or not stocked. Parking lot had less than 15 cars. Going to Frys use to be a nice shopping experience full of people and life. This time it felt like I just crashed a funeral.

Went to San Marcos CA store for misc. exotic cables & adapters - the kind I used to always find there. Was astounded at how empty the shelves and few the staff. None of the several items I needed. Asked pointed questions about possible close-down (hadn't seen this thread yet) which were denied with "distribution center reorganizing inventory; check back soon" - type answers from several staff. Found what I need on-line but would have preferred to "see it / buy it now". Sad.

I remember there used to be such a long line in computer components. There was about 3 employees helping 20 - 30 people waiting in line. Motherboards were stacked so high that they were in danger of tipping over. Every 2 - 3 minutes someone would walk away with a board and heading to the front of the store for the cpu and ram.

Last time I wanted to buy an upgrade for my computer, they had only old Celeron Intels in stock and AMD Ryzen chips that were $50 more expensive than Amazon. We looked at motherboards and they only had about 6 in stock. 5 of the 6 were opened and returned. The one that was "new" had a smashed box. They only had slow ram. I asked when they would get faster ones, the guy said he didn't know.

I'm guessing many vendors cut supply to Fry's since they probably aren't able to push them out or vendors have lost faith in Fry's.

If you have never worked at Fry's, and at their corporate office, you will be clueless why this company has failed. From an insider, their downfall began many years ago. They lost the mojo that the company had. All through the 90's and into the 2000's, the company flourished. The politics and distrust among corporate personnel along with the egoism of the owners set the tone for the company to fail. The company use to employ many great and talented individuals, but one by one, they decided to leave due to the unethical atmosphere of corporate. John Fry thinks he knows it all, and Randy seems to put the wrong people to manage the company. Failures, but they made their money. Poor employees that didn't see this coming. The good news is the Frys is a small fish in a pond, so I advise all employees to keep their heads up high and find a better work environment.

Went to Crossroads Frys in City Of Industry, CA and couldn't believe how empty it was. This store used to be hopping! There was one person manning checkout and it took maybe ten minutes before I got to pay for the the items I bought. I asked her if the store was empty like this all the time, even on weekends, and she said yes, that the store had been going downhill for months and she didn't think it would stay open much longer. How sad. It was like walking in a mausoleum. Even the illumination was off, like the store was shutting down lights getting ready to close in the middle of the day. Years ago I would have to carry a walkie talkie in order to stay in contact with friends because it was so easy to get lost and never find one another in that huge store. I've been on their mailing list for a long time, and have been buying stuff occasionally online, but had no idea that the brick and mortar part of their business was failing. Every computer I've ever built was from parts procured at Frys. I guess that can't happen anymore.

Austin Store had a large sign- No pictures or video allowed in the store.

I wish the Austin store, would put up a sign, stating Fry's Electronic future plans, closing or going out of business.

Went to the Las Vegas store. Not one single HP printer and VERY limited selection of others. The tablet section was spread out wide obviously trying to take up space. Areas in the store with shelving missing leaving large plots of unused floor space. A lot of nonsense products no one wants like toys and such. Very sad, I've always loved going in there.

Frys Return to Vendor warehouse is pretty much closed, all merchandise is gone and pretty much a skeleton crew till everything else is gone

Was in the Austin Store yesterday and noticed they had a large sign- No pictures or video allowed in the store. Went in for a common item- RJ11 crimp connector and out of stock. Sales person suggested the other electronics store here in town that usually has anything you might need.

Went to the Fry's in Concord CA. There are no apple computers for sale at all. Most of the shelves are empty. The HDD aisle had only a few choices. No memory, no sd cards, no raspberry pi units.

They are done.

I have been to the Arlington TX and Irving TX Fry's in the last 2 weeks to find a work monitor and a few MISC items. So sad, maybe 20% of the store has merchandise.

They might as well have their next Friday add be a big store closure sale and quickly get rid of their merchandise instead of dragging out their costs any longer. All employees remaining know the end is near - rip off the bandaid for Pete's sake.

At this point, I would only buy a product from Fry's unless it was around 35% off or more, expecting returns to not happen.

Was in the Renton, WA Fry's yesterday. It was a pathetic morgue. No restocking being done since around January. Entire rows of shelves empty. Nobody in the receiving area at all. What few employees that are left (and none who I recognize) seem genuinely clueless. The one manager I found wouldn't say they were closing (or anything at all).

I've got news for you: "Empty shelves speak for themselves"

Any employees here? If yes, what's your take on all of this?

I just went to the Fry's in Renton, WA yesterday for the first time in over a year. I was shocked at the empty shelves. Wanted a new NAS - in the past they had nearly a half-isle of options. Yesterday, a single product among empty shelves. An employee told me they were "having problems getting things overseas". This is obviously a joke given the thread I've found here. What a bummer. I remember how excited I was when Fry's came to Washington state.

In Roseville store, was surprised to find emptiness.
although not total, the items I was looking for were found to not be there.

at the age of 75, I can remember shopping in some of the stores decades ago in the Bay area

I understand there was management situation involving the absconding of significant amounts of money, which led to this situation.

A sad circumstance:
: an institutional experience which will be un likely to be replicated in the future.

Fry's probably may have paid their vendors and creditors, but that comes at a cost as there is a lack of inventory in most stores. The combination of that and also cutting of work hours for FULL time employees signals a large scale backpedal of store operations, and possibly leading to closure.

I went to the Fountain Valley, CA location yesterday and was truly saddened. It was always a treat for me to go in there and spend a good hour looking and picking up random cool stuff. I would say that 40% of the isles have product. Earlier this year, I went and noticed the PC/Laptop area was pretty bare; I'd assumed they were in the middle of a remodel/re-stock. It's very strange though because as early as a year ago, I could have swore that going there on a Saturday, you were in for a madhouse... long line to cash out, 10 cashiers servicing the long line... shelves were fully stocked. I think at least for this location, the decline was quick, all things considered. Everyone should go to your local Fry's and take a bunch of pictures while we still can. I know there are some stores from my childhood which I wish I could revisit in pictures (old walmart, Sodis, Newberry, etc).

How Fry's Burbank can make money:

Since they're as good as dead in selling stuff, they should use their property as a parking spot for Metro train riders. There's a train station across the street from them. The street used to not have parking along the Vanowen side. Now there are parking. Fry's can charge people to park their cars while they take the metro.

Wow.. just got THE WORST customer service for FRY'S BURBANK in my experience for electronics. (big store or small.) Rude punk didn't have a clue about anything. Wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't so rude. No wonder they're going out of business.

I used to work at the Roseville store (for 8 years) and I watched Fry’s dwindle into its current sad state. They kept trying new ideas to keep briskness in store but amazon and Newegg kicked our a–. That and the poor treatment of employees drive all the knowledgeable staff out the door. They just have a squad of wet behind the ears kids that frankly don’t give a **** about customer service which has made the problem worse. The market influence was inevitable but the management decisions were not. Sorry to say it but I’m not sad to see it go.

I went to Fountain Valley store in CA to get a network switch yesterday. Shock to find completely empty shelves. Not even a single switch or networking device - new or old/opened - for sale. I asked a sale manager about the inventory, and his reply was what you see on shelves are what you can get. Store seemed to have less staffs than normal level on a business day.

I’ve been going to Frys Electronics forever, been to stores all over the country, AZ, Ca, Nv, Tx, Ga., I’ve always ended up staying way longer than I intended, not because of the long lines, (crazy long lines), but because I ended up checking out everything!!!! I came to the Tempe store a few months ago, same story. So today, after actually making a list of things I’ve needed and were unable to find elsewhere, headed to the store. . . To my surprise, empty parking lot, that’s weird, walked in. . . WTF Was This Fry’s?, empty of customers, empty of staff, but most disappointing, empty of anything that was on my list, rca jacks, leds, audio equipment, TVs, virtually everything, this is sad, if this is where we are going! WTF . . . Goodbye old friend! Wish I (as well as your devoted family) had been told of your demise, just like TRU, sudden Death during the holidays, unexpected, and selfish, I’m sure the CFO, CEO, and members of the board, made out like bandits, Thanks.

I went to the Burbank, CA store 3 days ago and I was blown away on how dead the store is. I want to upgrade my PC and I needed the usual motherboard, cpu and ram. All of their motherboards were opened and returned. No new stock. They don't have any new cpus from Intel. They had older 7th and 8th generation extreme editions that were super expensive. The ram they have in stock was pitiful. Amazon had a far better selection.

Anyways I wanted to buy cdrs and soldering pencil 3 days ago. I couldn't find either items on their shelves. I walked around for 10 minutes looking for an employee and found NOBODY. There was a girl by the UFO and she had no idea what I was looking for.

Their shelves look nearly empty. It doesn't look like they've been getting new stock of stuff. Their employees no longer wear formal attire (dress shirts and ties). They now wear black pants, red shirts and a walkie talkie over their ears.

It's really sad what's become of Fry's. I remember nearly 20 years ago my dad would take me there and we could literally spend hours just walking around and playing with things. Today going there would be a chore. Very tragic.

The alternative is Micro Center. From what I heard they're doing better. However the closest one is 58 miles from me. No way in hell would I even bother.

I was at Fry's in Tempe, AZ yesterday. Sad for me, and my guess is, many just like me. Just a few years ago, I had to wait in a checkout lane with 20+ clerks for 15 or more minutes. Now, no stock on the shelves at all. Only a few weeks ago, I was in there and most of the shelves were well stocked. Makes me wonder what is going on. I don't think they sold everything in that amount of time. TV's covered a large wall. yesterday, no TV's except a few small ones in the aisle. Also as another poster stated, most of the shelves that used to be stocked with interesting items, now are all Pepsi/Mtn Dew/etc. Sad, I have been going to this store for 18 years, and the Phoenix one occasionally. I hope they are just remodeling, but I think not. RIP Fry's. I did notice Best Buy is beginning to carry some DIY build parts now, but no cases .

Went in to the Las Vegas store last week for a wireless computer keyboard. All they had were 2 high end wired gaming keyboards. Shelves are very bare. Only 1 register open. Haven’t really been able to find much there in the past few months. It’s definitely not looking good. It’s always been my go to store for computer parts, but I guess no more. Sad!

Just went to Frye's store on I 45 and beltway 8 in Houston. The store is dead I use to work at this store back in 2006 it was hella bz I made over 3k In commission working part time. Now I see it as a ghost town. I could not even find a simple VGA cord. Sad to see them go under.

Amazon is not too far from Fry's. Anybody notice they no longer guarantee two day shipping for Prime eligible items? And they started modifying their return policies. I had a rude awakening not long ago with an expensive item I wanted to return due to a defect. Imagine my surprise when Amazon refused my return even though I had a valid reason. Amazon did not even put a warning during order placement that the item cannot be returned. Been a customer of Amazon since they opened in 1994. Stopped buying expensive computer parts from Amazon after that incident.

To those who say Fry's went out of business because they started selling As Seen On TV items and perfumes. I have been going to their stores since 1991 and they always had those items. The major changes I saw was their food court expansion and DVD/Bluray section added late 90s. Fry's also took up the slack when Tower Records closed by expanding their music CD section.

What surprised me during their heyday was how bad they treated their employees. Anyone noticed how there are no janitors at Fry's Electronics? You will never see an employee take out the trash. Or will you ever see a dumpster outside Fry's Electronics. That is because the owners are so paranoid about employees throwing away items inside the store and then dumpster diving for the same items after their shift is over. Trash was handled by a private security company who screened the trash before they are collected. This type of theft was something popularized by Walmart employees. Fry's just went full gestapo on their own employees.

But even with all their faults I still have fond memories at Fry's Electronics. Fry's Electronics has a special place in my heart. I first saw a video game (Unreal) running on a Voodoo card and decided I would build my own computer. Up until then I was playing Quake software rendered. Imagine my surprise when the demo setup at Fry's had all the items listed to build a similar computer and where to find it all in store. Went home and checked my balance and came back to buy everything I needed on the same day. Fry's used to open at 6am then close at midnight in their Orange County locations in California. Talk about convenience! You can't do that with Amazon. Not even when they tested the same day and 3 hour shipping for the lucky ones who live near a fulfillment center.

Thank you Fry's Electronics!

Went to the store today on the North Freeway in Houston (45)... Was really bummed out. A few motherboards, no networking gear, many shelves completely empty. Much like someone else said, I asked various employees and most said that management tells them nothing. Talked to a cashier who was a manager, said that they just got some new suppliers and shelves would be full again soon. I'm seriously doubting that. I've seen many big box stores go out of business over the years. This has all the tell-tale signs of Bankruptcy. Bummer..

I saw a video of a store on YouTube, they have less merchandise than Kmart did pre bankruptcy, and way less than post bankruptcy Kmart. Looks like the suppliers cut them off which did in Circuit City, Bon-Ton etc.

The ownership either didn’t stash enough wealth during the good years to cut a check and save the company ala Fast Eddie Lampert, or believed the concept is no longer viable.

Well run privately held companies almost always look better than ones that have to answer to shareholders. Look at Meijer, Wegmans, Harbor Freight, jammed with merchandise and customers. If Fry’s isn’t closing I’d be surprised. However why not decade bankruptcy unless they aren’t bankrupt and are simply going to sell through and close?

Just walked out of the Fountain Valley, CA Fry's and shelves are bare. Sorry to see the store go.

Wilsonville location in Oregon is the same story, but they gave us varying answers from "new inventory coming for 2020" to "the green tag are really good deals" to "pfff" and walking away.

They had 2 monitor types in stock.

THANKS AMAZON!!!!!!!

Just left the store in San Marcos, CA. I was a bit suspicious when on a Saturday afternoon there were less than 20 cars in the parking lot. I mean this store used to percolate with customers on the weekends. Once inside I found out why. The return counter was manned by one person, and there were only two cash registers open. There wasn't a single sales person in the computer parts and accessories isles, and only one at the new computers section. There were entire rows of shelves devoid of any merchandise. The same held true in other departments as well. Boxes torn open by customers were in every aisle. The store was in general disarray, almost as if it had been abandoned. It surprised me not to see dead fish floating in the giant aquariums. I found nothing I needed and left empty handed. At the exit the usual Gestapo checking customers' sales receipts was missing, and I could have walked out with anything. It's easy to see that the bugler is blowing taps for this place.

Just left the store in Tempe AZ me same thing. Shelves are empty and place was dead. I asked two associates if the were closing. Both gave canned answers "we are not sure" so that's that I guess. Another victim of Amazon?

Interesting that I should find this recent post today. I remember when the Fry's Electronics store in Renton, WA was booming. The place was always busy. Lately, when I've gone looking for something, it's just about guaranteed they won't have it. I was just there today, Friday mid-day, and the place was dead. The parking lot was almost empty. There was almost nobody in the store. And the shelves were more empty than ever. Based on the comments I've read here, this is not an isolated case, and I'm reading the signs correctly - they're not going to be around much longer. That's unfortunate, because with the demise of Radio Shack, there just isn't anywhere to go around here when you need electronic parts right now.

Electronics might be down but deli isn't!

We definitely are going out of business. We barely have staff at my location (an entire department got laid off/quit, the remaining managers are doing multiple positions, vendors haven't been paid,no restocks since January, we can't send defects back due to vendors being cut off and to top it off after a month hiatus our store manager came in just to quit with no notice. Considering corporate's genius policy making and the stocking of such questionable brands that make Chinese fakes look premium, we all knew this was bound to happen.

Was at Fry's, Roseville, CA. The CPU/Memory wall was empty. No motherboards, many shelves empty. The weird thing... I was there not long ago. Got a SATA SSD, price matched. I thunk maybe a month or two ago all the shelves were full. So this is very drastic and across the board. Frankly Amazon sells a lot of junk too. I really don't see a lot of options these days. In Sacramento, we too had an Incredible Universe. I remember when Fry's came in. It took them practically 10 years to redecorate that store. Fry's k–led the mom and pop computer stores, and now they are wasting away too. Donkey Balls.

I was just at a store in Milton GA, in north Atlanta. This is one of the two Atlanta metro stores. Yes, bare shelves here too. I needed some heatshrink tubing and they had 2 freaking pieces left in the display!
I went there a few weeks earlier for the same thing and they had a few more pieces but not in the size I wanted. I noted that things were a bit thin in the electronics/computer section at that time but this time it was obvious. They did have a full aisle of "As seen on TV" items and the perfume section seemed full too.

They should have learned from the demise of Radio Shack, don't try to be all things to all people. I'll miss a local store that has the electronic bits and pieces I need and will be sorry to see them go though they were always a bit weird.

I work for a Supplier to Fry's and it is now going on a year's worth of outstanding invoices. We haven't received a new PO from Fry's for over 2 months, not that we would fulfill it even if we did. The Fry's in Anaheim was a ghost town the last time I went in there and the shelves were mostly bare. I'm surprised it is taking them this long to announce bankruptcy or whatever they decide. Maybe they are putting together a comprehensive list of all the creditors so. Too bad, I enjoyed going into the store back in the day!!