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.
still alive and kicking (well, semi-alive)
this thread predicted they will close in 2019. they survived covid.
Went into my local Fry’s yesterday in Austin not thinking much of it until I walked into what had to have been a more than 50% empty store inventory wise. Sections of the store had nothing in it. I just could not believe the lack of product and the lack of staff. No one to help me on the floor. There were just a few people in the cashier area and the tech repair area. I asked what was going on and the cashier told me that the pandemic has significantly hit all import businesses hard. I told him that I had recently gone into a Best Buy and the store was well stocked. He then claimed he had been in a few Best Buy stores and they were rather bare...hmm...ok. He then said that Fry’s does not have any warehouses to back stock pile inventory where as other retailers like Best Buy do. I just did not respond because clearly either the employees are not acknowledging that there is a problem to protect their employment or management is rather convincing in their statements to employees. Even if Fry’s did have warehouses for stock piling, the warehouses can eventually become empty too if it really is a pandemic issue. I did some googling and found this thread and I would agree that the empty bare ness of all of Fry’s stores started well before the pandemic as many have reported over time. This just s—s because last time I was there the store looked fine and I do not remember seeing any bare shelves so maybe it was just before it started. I would add that the whole consignment thing is a bad sign that they have no capital to buy their inventory themselves which means the company is likely in a downward spiral. If I were a vendor I would not want to do business that way...much too risky. That is risk that the retailer is supposed to deal with, not the vendor in this type of business.
Frys Electronics stores are way too big and that makes it a definite challenge in figuring out how to make that much square footage profitable. I cannot even begin to imagine what their monthly utility bills typically look like; it has to be a small fortune just to heat/cool all that space and then the rent...oh man. They had ALL of the front doors both sets of the entry and exit doors wide open Best Buy at least has smaller more manageable store footprints to fill. Fry’s stores are still formatted to be like the 1980s store layout of a Toys R US but selling electronics primarily instead of toys and with much bigger square footage to fill. Sadly, they are likely going to have to go fully online but will have to figure out how to catch up on logistics since they were relying on their stores for this from what I understand.
I think it is just a matter of time before the inevitable finally happens and the company is at a point to where they cannot make up excuses or blame external factors anymore.
The closest Fry's to me are 138 miles and 420 miles. When I visit Las Vegas to see relatives, I used to manage to sneak in a trip to Fry's to stock up on parts, blank DVD's and other supplies. The last time I visited was last fall, well before the Covid 19 outbreak. The only software on the shelves was three brands of antivirus. There were no new computers for sale, but a small selection of refurbished ones. There were rows and rows of empty shelves, other shelves dismantled. There were some discrete electronics. I don't remember if they had any motherboards or cpu's. I left without purchasing anything because there wasn't much to buy - certainly nothing I could use. Very disappointing because I liked to stock up on things I didn't need at the time, but knew that at some point I would and then not have to wait for shipping times. I used to occasionally purchase from them online, but I don't trust that the company is solvent to guarantee I will get anything after my payment clears. Sad..
People are still commenting on this thread when clearly the whole world is affected by Corona Virus . All business are filing for bankruptcy, why are you still shocked frys is struggling to re stock the shelves ? If I was you I would start preparing for an earthquake because Southern California is over due for one.
It's pretty sad. So many fond memories of getting excited as a child, going to Fry's with my older brother, and picking out a graphics card or other PC components. I went to a location in Austin about a year ago with my then girlfriend and it was the same way - pretty empty. Stock was about 50% I guess. I was looking for a specific BenQ monitor (144hz, 27") that had just been discontinued, but is an amazing model. The last one they had was display - got it for a discount. Anyway, the guy selling to us was REALLY trying to sell us hard, and I asked plainly if he was on commission. He said yes. There were about 5 employees in the PC area, which had little inventory. They were kinda just hanging out talking; can't blame them. Anyway I had a great conversation with this older guy, and it turns out he actually was a pretty big shot photographer who had photographed and known a number of celebrities personally - up to Michael frickin' Jackson! The guy said he had moved back to TX to be home more often for his very sick wife, and took the Fry's job since work at a photographer was hard to come by for some reason. When we left we both thought the guy was just talking himself up to act cool, why else would he be working there? Turns out he actually did just LOVE Fry's, as he had bought a ton of stuff there for photography over the years. I saw his website with photos of a lot of famous musicians and whatnot. It was just really cool and I'm glad he got a big sale that day. That is why I always loved Fry's - great conversations with employees. They really go out of their way to help you and it's fun to nerd out when your usual people aren't into tech.
I was also kind of wondering if this is just the Amazon effect. You can buy everything from there now, and there isn't a good reason to shop elsewhere unless you want to help a local business. Their return policy is amazing and prices fluctuate like anyone else. Also surprised Newegg has managed to stay afloat despite Amazon's seemingly global dominance. I haven't seen many Microcenter stores in TX, but I hear they're basically the same store as a Fry's. Just sad to see it like this - I like actually going into a store from time to time as so much of everything has turned digital.
I have a relative who worked there last year, he said that they were gonna start closing our local store around December. Has to be true, why else would they just completely not stock the shelves and also get rid of the displays too? There are no TV's, no computers, no apple computers. All that's left is just the stuff that nobody really needs. The employee I asked said they just haven't been able to restock because of the pandemic. I explained that other electronic stores aren't having that problem they restock just fine. So I think they are making a silent exit in some of their stores. Probably don't want to scare the investors.
Sacramento store is bare although they do have some nice Gamdias items. I did buy a case and a couple of AIO coolers for a good price. Hate to see this happen to such a great electronics retailer. Hard to find anything retail if they close. I hate online ordering as it takes too long. Fry's has always internet price matched so that isn't the issue, just bad management. Will definitely be a loss to IT pro's as well as myself, always bought all my electronics there. Guess I'll just have to "hope" any online purchases are decent, you never know what your getting until it arrives and then you have nothing to compare it with. Bummer.
Yes it does. Thank you for asking.
Customers are coming in criticizing the store . Complete lack of feeling or consideration. Does it make you feel better about yourself?
Please don't turn this into your personal platform to preach the Gospel It's not the right place for it and frankly, no one cares to hear it. It is a forum about Fry's, not about the coronavirus and God's word. Let's please just stick with the main topic.
Thank you.
Pessimistic Customers said that it was “Scary “ to see empty shelves at frys . What’s scarier? Frys empty shelves or Corona Virus? Because now I’m witnessing everyone panic over this “Deadly Destructive Pestilence. “You will see it with your own eyes , as you witness the punishment of the wicked .” Psalm 91:8 I hope this is a lesson for the wicked to change to mild -tempered . Because God opposes the haughty ones , but gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones .
If you are a vendor and they owe you from 2018 take them to collections you will lose a % of the money but at least you will get the bulk of it, we did though before the consignment thing. Currently what they are doing is extortion as to get paid you have to signup for their stupid consignment model. When they contacted us, we told them we weren't interested in doing consignment they basically said so you don't want to be paid the money you are owed. We kept telling them they didn't owe us anything anymore. but they kept insisting if we wanted to get paid we had to switch to consignment. Yes it was a hit on our sales but rather not have the sales from a pain in the arse company.
I’m a vendor for Fry’s and they owe my company money for orders they’ve made from 2018!! They’re a conniving, disgusting company to do any type of business with.
Fry's Burbank has ONE cpu in stock, a low end Ryzen.
ZERO motherboard of any kind.
DDR2 and 3 RAM. A couple of DDR4 that are not priced competitively at all.
ZERO video cads
ZERO prebuilt desktops
3 monitors that are all OPEN BOX
Stick a fork in Fry's Burbank... it's done.
Its not a global crisis. Many companies are thriving if they moved with the times and found ways to bring in more shoppers and/or introduced deliveries and/or jumped on board the online sales to gain back that revenue normally lost to others on online sales.
Many companies had clueless CEOs raking in millions doing nothing and...doing nothing innovative landed them where they are today. Frys programs run off of XP, for example. When they were making billions they put no money back into their stores. This is an inevitable result of not running your business correctly.
GLOBAL CRISIS ❗️❗️❗️❗️WORLDWIDE COMPANIES , OWNERS LOSING TRILLIONS ! ITS NOT JUST FRYS ITS EVERYONE!
None of the Fry's stores are doing well. They are all lacking merchandise and customers. It's obvious that they are all going to close regardless of the feedback you get from corporate. There is an old expression that holds true...don't pee on my head and tell me it's raining.
No, Fry's is not experiencing a "shortage of product" because of Coronavirus, as someone has posted. The empty shelves have been there for nearly a year, long before the virus. A handful of months ago, we were told that the cause was the trade war with China. There will always be some new excuse. – That said, I certainly want to hear of some specific Fry's locations that are restocking and thriving. None of us electronics shoppers want Fry's to close, for goodness' sake. Can anyone confirm a Fry's store that is functioning well?
Fry's announced that the Woodland Hills store is closing too. Fry's publicly commented that ONLY the Palo Alto store would be closing. Since they said that, three stores are going or have gone down the drain.
Fry's also announced that the Anaheim store will be closing on March 2nd. There's nothing left to say...
Seen on Fry's Facebook page: "To all our valued customers: our Anaheim store will close permanently on March 2nd, 2020. It has been a pleasure serving you at this location for many years, and we stand ready to provide all your electronic needs at Frys.com or at one of our many other store locations in Southern California."
There is a “shortage in product” because the factories in China are shut down. Due to the “Destructive Pestilence.” Corona Virus. It’s in all 4 corners of the world .Frys is not the only company not getting product. Many businesses are being affected . People are losing millions . Good luck .
Walked into their San Jose store today and only a few TVs, like three refurbished dells, a (as in, single) motherboard and zero (0) CPUs. PC cases limted to 5XL "gaming server" sized things, but no regular server racks. No Rpis, no Ardunios, no Atmels or similar. Lots of stationary, perfume, and "gaming" bath soap but not much else. Even the "gaming" desks and chairs were all sold.
As for the employees, all the PC repair staff quit so no PC repairs period. No car or home installations either. No sales people, nobody to talk to except a bored cashier and the mangaer himself who checked recpeits at the exit.
It's over.
Went to the Fry's in South Houston TX and it was sad. There were people yelling in the aisles asking if anyone worked there trying to get help. They did not have 1 computer or monitor for sale. They had about 4 TV's on display. There were no motherboards or other PC components. All of the audio component displays were empty. There was 1 checkout register open. I would guess they had about 40% of their normal inventory left.
“It's President's day 2020 and Fry's still OPEN and on SALE!!!“
The only thing on sale is its land and buildings.
Prologis will most likely own it all within the year or shortly after.
Do your research. I did.
Frys electronics on are you going out of business. “Not at all!
Frys electronics on Prologis looking at its headquarters and asking the city of San Jose if it can change its zoning for that land. “No comment” Prologis answer. “No comment.”
Sure isnt a “Not at all” reply there.
Prologis already bough the Anaheim land which Frys was leasing from someone else. Thats not the only one being looked at as well.
The stores are a negative gain, even going on well over 9 months of consignment attempts. The only logical business decision is to sell the land and dissolve the company.
Unless you think the Frys brothers care about the workers vs. personal profits. Lets ask the 80% of employees cut already at one time that question to see what they think.
Or we can all SUE FOR EMOTIONAL STRESS! Because we sales associates shouldn’t be assaulted everyday . Enough is enough. We are coming after JOHN FRY. Take action NOW OR DEAL WITH WHATS COMING.. dealt with enough VERBAL ABUSE!
On this thread we've seen a LOT of first hand reports of Fry's stores with empty shelves and demoralized employees. But we've also seen some posts that claim "It's coming back!"
Request: Can we have some solid reports of specific Fry's stores that appear to be thriving or recovering? Include your criteria: What does the CPU/motherboard/memory area look like? How about disk drives? Audio components? The computer/laptop department? The checkout lanes?
Honestly have tried to do business with these guys over the years. They were the holy grail of customers to acquire. However they were pathetic they way the dealt with vendors. Everything about the company felt creepy. John Fry should be ashamed of the way his company operates. The fact you could never get insurance on they said a lot. Hope they crash and burn. I feel sorry for their employee though.
When your business is down 70% or more year over year, there is no coming back from that. Unless you come up with something innovative or something that will be a necessity. The irreparable damage has been going on for too long. Its impossible to rebound from a negative reputation especially with the internet. I really dont know how you run a business that is 100% SALES reliant and NOT have any inventory. We all love Fry's and we dont want it to disappear. However when will Frys be truly honest to their employees and customers.
It's President's day 2020 and Fry's still OPEN and on SALE!!!
Did it close in 2019? No ...right? So why don’t you find a job instead of gossiping about your former employer? You have too much time in your hands try to be positive and you may bring something good into your life!
You couldn't even build a PC with components from Fry's. They're out of stock and their cpu & board stock are incompatible (AMD cpu + Intel board LMAO!).
It's sad when Best Buy has every component you need to build a PC.
Fry's is done.
I went to the Duluth, GA store yesterday and they're closed. Not sure when, but it was during the last month. The store in Alphareta, GA is EMPTY. I'm guessing they're closing any day now.
if you count being able to physically enter a space as 'open', then yes, they're still open. Anything beyond that though and I'm not so sure. I'd say they've been functionally out of business for 8 months now.
It’s 2020 and Frys is still open
Just visited Fry's Manhattan Beach CA during lunch. One checkout clerk only working and spew the company line that only Palo Alto closing. Place was barren compared to the old days with lots of rude/ignorant sales folk trying to look busy and long checkout lines. Nobody even from inventory control looking you over as you head out the door. Used to be such a "special" retail experience. BUH-BYE Fry's.
I went into the Fry's in Illinois last night and was shocked to see the store so barren. I wanted to pick up a new pair of speakers for my computer at home and they literally had no speakers. After I looked around it became evident that something was terribly wrong. Empty shelves, no customers, and a very lifeless feel. Over the years I have shopped both Fry's and Micro Center. Looks like it will be Micro Center going forward.
The one in San Marcos, CA was nearly empty in the middle of December. Can't imagine that they can recover from that.
Frys in Las Vegas is looking horrible as well.I dont see how much longer they can last. For everyone in Vegas, theres another place called PC Warehouse located in Henderson. They have a website and you can buy a ton of things. While it doesnt to appear to be on the level of the old Frys, they cant be beat concerning buying PC parts in Vegas now.......
Tried to buy a motherboard/CPU bundle at their Sunnyvale store today (2/11/20) only to discover that they only had four (as in, 4) mobos and two (as in 2) CPUs available for sale, none of which were compatible. Sales guy said he couldn't get me working parts at any store or their catalog shipped to my house or any store and told me to go elsewhere. This would be like if I walked into an auto parts store and they didn't sell ANY universal alternators or batteries.
Stores can't survive in this fashion. The real question now is if they'll even make it to July or die before then.