RIP Fry’s Electronics

[Ready]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/business/frys-electronics-closure/index.html

We’ve had Fry’s Electronics stores in our community since I was in my 20’s. It was a fun place to shop and find all kinds of geeky tech things that other stores did not carry. But it’s been years since I shopped there. Amazon now sells everything they sell so there was little reason to go there. Yesterday was their last day in business, and now all stores are permanently closed.

 

[mitchjav]

We didn't have Fry's here on the East Coast, but used to make the trip every time I was in the Bay Area on business travel. Fun place ... RIP

 

[yakers]

 

[mpeirce]

I loved Fry's Electronics.

It was nerd heaven. I used to go at least once a month, but haven't been in a long time (left Silicon Valley 20+ years ago...)

 

[Ready]

I think their downfall had to do with their lack of effort to build an online business. Their website never seemed to have anything I needed in stock and it focused mainly on telling me what inventory they had at their retail stores.

They survived for years while watching the demise of Circuity City, Radio Shack, Good Guys and CompUSA. But ultimately they were left in the dust by Best Buy and Amazon.

 

[Ian S]

Very sad to hear but not surprised. Last time I was in a store in Phoenix (late 2019), the shelves were mostly empty and there was little of actual interest. My current desktop PC was a build from parts most of which were bought at Fry's over five years ago. I had several prior to that. We bought TVs, appliances, computers and parts, cameras, grills, so much stuff from the mid 1990's up to about three years ago.

 

[twaddle]

Is there a collection of pictures of their storefronts somewhere?

I can't find one of the store with the Enter key on the front door (Santa Clara?) I used to frequent.

I blame myself for their closing. Haven't been to one in years.

 

[NW-Bound]

It's sad to see Fry's Electronics go. It was convenient to have a store only a few miles from my home, so I could dash out to grab something I need immediately instead of having it shipped by Amazon.

The last time I went there which was a month or so ago, the place was deserted, with only a couple of customers, and perhaps 5 or 6 workers. There was not much inventory, and much of the lighting was turned off to save money. It was dark and sad.

I have no doubt that Amazon took much of their business, but they were still OK until Covid hit. This damn pandemic hurt a lot of businesses, from large corps to mom-and-pop shops.

 

[jollystomper]

Sad to see. Whenever my business travel took me to California or Las Vegas in the90s and early 2000s, before the growth of online sources like Amazon and NewEgg, Frys was always a stop for my computing hobbies.

Now, gone the way of Circuit City, CompUSA...

 

[JohnnyBGoode]

Frankly, I was surprised it lasted as long as it did, but I'm sad to see them go. They outlasted many competitors but consumer electronics is a ruthless game. On my last couple of visits there (I went every couple of years or so) the shelves were progressively more empty and the customer service (never great to begin with) was worse. Don't know if we will see anything like it again. It seems like consumer electronics like they stocked can only exist within a store to serve as a bit of a loss-leader like at Costco or Target.

 

[statsman]

No surprise. They had some of the most unhelpful retail staff I have ever encountered. If they weren't able to make a sale immediately, they would become distant and would on. In the days when I used to build my own PCs and later for PC repair/upgrade parts, I ended up shopping at the smaller computer stores in our area (i.e. Central Computer).

Good riddance. There's one here in Central Texas that I am aware of, and I hadn't stepped foot in that store in 2.5 years here.

 

[braumeister]

Back in the 90s I did some consulting work for Apple and whenever I went out there I used to love going into the Fry's there in Silicon Valley. Just such an amazing array of cool electronic stuff, and there was absolutely nothing like it anywhere else, certainly not in the midwest where I lived.

Last time I was in one was last year and the entire enormous store was at least 70% empty. Bare shelves everywhere. Very sad.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Awwww. I loved Fry's. I went to one in Dallas almost every week for something back in the day. They have (had) a lot of my money. Sorry to see they didn't make it, but not at all surprised.

 

[twaddle]

Bay Area people: the store with an Enter key on the door and PCB traces on the floor? Santa Clara, right? I'm going nuts trying to find a picture. Or maybe my memory is terrible.

Edit: whew. Found it. It was the Sunnyvale store (version 2 of 3 in that area, I guess).

 

[W2R]

I have never been in a Fry's, because we didn't have one nearby. People online liked it.

We did have a Circuit City right down the street. When it failed, Best Buy moved in and was there for a few years. Then Best Buy closed that location and now it is a Total Wine & More.

Since I don't drink, I don't have any reason to go that humungous liquor store. They seem to have brisk sales and plenty of customers. I guess that due to the pandemic there is a lot more demand for what they sell than there once was.

 

[RobbieB]

Every store had a "theme"

San Jose was Mayan, Palo Alto was Gold Rush, Fremont was High Voltage with a huge Tesla coil, Jacobs ladder and gas discharge tubes. All were cool.

I'll miss 'em, end of an era.

 

[pacergal]

Didn't know they were still around. The one here closed many years ago.
It was a funky place to shop electronics.

 

[twaddle]

Fry's started as a grocery store, I think. And they still had a lot junk food and Jolt Cola even after they switched to computer stuff. It was the perfect mix.

 

[gamboolman]

My Condolences, sad to see them go. But as others have rightly pointed out, it appears they did not adapt to the online shopping phenomenon

We always enjoyed going into the Fry's just off I-45 in Houston - I usually always bought a couple sacks of stuff that I "really needed".....

gamboolman....

Lifes A Dance And You Learn As You Go

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Wow, I can still remember the first time I ever went to one on a business trip (from the East) to Silicon Valley long ago, and would stop by fairly frequently in the 2000-2009 era while making my way to often trips to Dallas.

I've bought stuff from them on-line, but a couple years ago took myself off their mailing list because I would continually get emails for things that were only available in stores or that were sold out on-line. It got to the point where it wasn't even worth my time to look.

RIP Fry's, perhaps the first real tech crazy store.

 

[Car-Guy]

I spent a lot of time and money there...

 

[Trooper]

Not surprised but still sad to see them go. Used to visit the location in Phoenix frequently. Hoping we're not eulogizing Best Buy soon.

 

[easysurfer]

I'm kinda surprised too that Fry's lasted this long. A shame as was a nice place to buy computer parts, bring home and build. Not many of those type of store around anymore.

 

[stepford]

Damn it. I've been a Fry's customer from the beginning. I used to go to the original store in Sunnyvale for wire wrap sockets and Mt. Dew back in the mid-80s during grad school. By the time I was in my "real" job in SoCal Fry's was down here too and over the years I've bought TVs, car stereos, cameras and endless smaller components from them - but nothing in the last year for obvious reasons. I guess I'm the sort of formerly loyal, but recently absent, customer that killed them. Sorry about that Fry's.

 

[Bamaman]

The appliance and electronics business appears to be ultra competitive, and just about all the "good" companies have gone out of business. We don't even have a Best Buy's any longer.

About the only place there is to buy appliances is Home Depot & Lowes around here. But you've always got the high line cabinet/appliance suppliers selling outrageously expensive designer brands of appliances.

And unfortunately, the alternative is The Internet.