Fry's knew this was coming for over 5 years, yet denied it publicly. Some of their properties were sold late last year and back rented. Very Ironic that they close one day after the Government Covid payouts got limited to companies with 50 employees or below. No liquidation or bankruptcy reorganization attempts..I can only guess why.
Yep. And especially small items like chargers and computer accessories, you could find for cheaper online elsewhere. Fry's also had inventory issues for a long time now, with shelves being very empty for a long time.
Different store, CEO John Roach. Fry’s Electronics was founded by the three Fry brothers and Kathy Holder. They took over the Incredible Universe locations, but not the business.
@@nicholasthompson7690 yea... but that’s what let’s them survive. They’ve been only getting busier. Microcenter still have 25 locations and I live near two of them. So life is good
"If you needed a gadget, you knew you could find it at Frys" LOL Frys stores were empty LONG before lock downs....not paying your vendors will do that.
@@Kewlzter The "Good Ol Days" was a lonnnnggg time ago. This video buys the Frys line that they shut down because of COVID, which is not true. Frys has been on life support for about 5 yrs, and their trouble with vendors date back over 10 yrs ago. BEFORE COVID, Frys blamed their empty shelves on the Trump admin for tariffs on Chinese goods...neglecting to say they stiffed their venders (which started the empty shelf syndrome) long before Trump took office.
@@Skulllywag I'm sure it was a combination. For example, Fry's may had decided on a plan, a focus of products that could sustain them. Just so happened, those key products were subject to tarrifs once they started. Remember back in your college days, when you only had just enough food to last you through the week until pay day, and then your rations somehow became spoiled/ruined? It's like that.
@@Kewlzter I don't know if you have visited a Frys in the last 5 yrs, or done any research on them. Two years ago (before COVID), my Frys had TWO motherboards in stock, ONE stick of SDRAM, yet two walls of computer chairs. Their TV department was almost empty. When you pay your employees based on commissions, and venders refuse to deal with you because of non-payment...it's a recipe for disaster when competing with Walmart and Amazon who were both selling TONS of Chinese electronics despite the tariffs which Frys SAID was THEIR problem (before they said COVID was the problem).
@@Skulllywag you're missing the point put poor management aside for a moment. I'm aware of the poor state the stores were in. But their statement about covid, and tariffs could be true. Every business makes plans to be a success. They may have had plans, and could've been making efforts to improve their stores. Just as you have dirty dishes in the sink, and you plan to clean them in the morning, only to discover there's a water outage. Can we say, your kitchen was filthy long before the outage, and ignore your efforts and intentions? 😂
That reporter obviously didn't shop in the store for past 2 years. The stores were virtually empty and all of the merchandise was off-brand crap. Last time I was there, they didn't even have one single desktop or laptop computer. But they did have tons of bottled water stacked all over the place.
i am sure they had problems way before covid. i remember i bought RAm, it didnt work (brand new), got a new pair (it didnt work), i think they turned around and resold nonworking one but i dont know
Yeah, their inventory control was always poor and openbox policy hurt them severely after they stopped using the white labels and offering discounts. I think that decision was the beginning of the end, and it was at least 15 years ago. They never made any competent effort at competing online. Their failed cybersquatting lawsuit and years-late deployment of fryselectronics.com or whatever their original domain was, was a limp effort well after newegg and others secured strong names with websites done right. Even once they got frys.com, using their website was a joke. Searching sucked, categories didn't have good filtering and sorting functions, realtime stock was unreliable, users had to try to decide which stores to place online orders from... And this was right up to the end in the 20-teens. It would have been mediocre in 1999. If they weren't a privately held company, the shareholders would probably sued the management years ago. They thoroughly trashed their own name and frankly kept running 5-6 years longer than they should have. Covid and market changes had nothing to do with it. It was 100% bad management.
So sad. I know I was upset when my Kmart had closed down. It was the only store when I was little that my mom could afford to shop! I blame Amazon and Wal-Mart for alot of places closing down.
I don't like Amazon, but at least I don't have to deal with high pressure salesman when I shop there or online. It's what's turning me off into going to BestBuy now.
I'm an old software engineer and used to go to the original store in CA. Back then the store was small and very odd because it was a grocery store but some aisles had computer parts. Over the years more stores opened and I'd be in there often because computers were advancing so fast I'd need a new machine every few months. And hard drives were so small I was always getting more, faster drives. ABout 20 years computers became fast enough to do pretty much everything and I stopped upgrading.
I will always remember going to this store with my dad when I was 6. I used to play around in the aisles with the left over golf store flooring. They had massive stickers on the floor that were images of water ponds, grass patches, and dirt spots. I would jump from one grass patch to another like the regular tile was lava while my dad was checking out the motherboards. Then when we were finished shopping, I would ask for a gumball. They had this old school gumball machine at the exit/entrance. Good times. I'm definitely sad I'll never get to experience that again.
At one time Fry's was like a Radio Shack on crack. You couldn't keep me out of there. Eventually I guess the Amazon Effect had a lot to do with it. Their prices were not competitive, selection was minimal, and you needed a lawyer to return something, even if it was within policy. Often the team members are not mentioned during this - I hope they quickly find other jobs.
I have gotten terrible treatment by the staff at Fry's in Milton Georgia, the patriot brand USB drives and micro SD cards always fail. not really too upset or surprised by the company going under...
yeah, from what my friend said who was a near regular for a decade; fry's employees were either great and very helpful, or oblivious dolts. Doubly so for managers, either they would bend over to help you, or were mean spirited dickheads. Some stores were known for being great, some such as the Palo Alto California one had a reputation that spanned the surrounding area; for being a bunch of surly unhelpful c%nts.
@@anasevi9456 they would respond if you were an idiot and belittle you for asking a question about something and the price you found at the Fry's website. Like who told you that was the price thier cell coverage was spotty at best then if you showed the page on your phone they would say we dont have it or we don't sell it at that low price...
This was once the most awesome computer diy on the planet. That was the attraction to buy other items in the store for me. When they no longer focus on the pc and instead focused on the other items I never returned and told the people I use to go there with that they would file for bankruptcy just like every other store like circuit city and such that did. And here we are. Miss those days free cds with code examples. Motherboards up the ying yang. Look at that 8x cdrom.
When Frys first opened in Texas (Arlington) it was a necessary evil. They were the only REAL game in town. Their customer service sucked, rebates on everything (to fuel their vice presidents gambling habit) that took forever to be fulfilled if at all, returns that were a nightmare.... and the "walk of shame" was legendary. I seriously thought Fry's would have filed bankruptcy a decade ago, and it blows my mind they kept the doors open the last few years with 3/4 empty shelves, and empty parking lots (that were packed in the 90's).
All of my favorite electronic stores are gone now. Crazy Eddie's, Nobody Beats The Wiz, Silo's, Computer City, Circuit City, Bryn Mawr Stereo(Tweeter), Comp USA. Best Buy is hanging on by a thread, but even they are not as fun to go to anymore. Moving from NJ to AZ , I was just getting acquainted with Fry's & Micro Center. But By then (2012) Fry's was already going down.
This stings worse than when CompUSA closed down. I wonder if the stores will be still open for a little while longer, to clear out stock maybe. Ill have to ride down there one last time and get me a new comp case or something, if they haven't locked the doors for good yet.
@@thelastdragon5551 Id like to get a Fry's yellow microchip mascot figure and put it on my desk. I don't know what that thing is called, but it would look cool on my desk.
@@thelastdragon5551 They are all closed and locked from what I hear, I could be wrong maybe depending on the store. Take a picture of the place maybe. I'm going to the one near me and take a picture of myself in front of it tomorrow.
"Changed to the market and due to the market"? They're just as out of touch in the end as they have been for the last 20 years. They floated on a wave of luck as the era of irrational exuberance made their sector one that was difficult to fail in. But times changed and they didn't. Their inventory management was terrible and their fledgling efforts at an online presence were so bad and so late they weren't even laughable. Their demise was inevitable as of 5-6 years ago, if not sooner. I really feel sorry for the employees. They deserved better.
Made $$$$ Was PIC, Sup3,sup2,sup1, even did the customer service safe area! cant forget the E-cage!!!I would hate doing recounts on inventory!!!!! Mayne hold up!!! I still hold the record for the most direct connect's from Randy!!!!! Houston,Webster, SouthHouston, 23.34.39.!!!! Ac blow cold!!!!!!!
Fry’s was always better than Worst Buy! They had better prices and better selection. I was able to return or get store credit without receipt just by giving my phone number. They had a month return policy on defective items, Worst Buy only 15! In emergency, I was always able to get it from Fry’s! Now I’ll have to wait a few days or a week to have it shipped online! Very stressful! And it’s true, they were leaning on closing down way before the Cabrona virus was even heard of! I asked employees why so empty, and every time, I was told a different reason!
if dust by can sit here and make it through the Corona and do what they're supposed to that means Fry's electronics can but I heard that they don't like to pay their vendors and when you do that that leads to this right here what's happening
So sad. Bought most of my initial computer equipment there and just loved to walk around and 'window shop'. Hope the employees find something suitable fast.
One of the worst companies to work for. Filled with criminal activities and embezzlement, they didn’t care about their employees. Good riddance, the Fry’s brothers, Ken Lutz, and all the idiots working for them deserve this. 😂
you need to realize that Frys electronics in early 90s was the place to be .. they Had EVERYTHING ... that is where i bought all my hardware for my first 2 pcs. yeah it is def sad to tears
@@aurinkobay7118 You are correct sir. Back in the day they were really something, much better than Best Buy, CompUSA, and Radio Shack combined. The electronics mega-store. I may just ride down there just to walk around the place and buy something one last time, that is if they still let people inside.
Covid-19 is not the reason. Fry's has been in trouble for years now. Their stock was not what is was the last time I went there 4 years ago.
@High Roller yes they can, Chapter 7, liquidation
Fry's knew this was coming for over 5 years, yet denied it publicly. Some of their properties were sold late last year and back rented. Very Ironic that they close one day after the Government Covid payouts got limited to companies with 50 employees or below. No liquidation or bankruptcy reorganization attempts..I can only guess why.
The virus was the last straw
@@DisneyStudioNetwork might be, but they were planning the closure long before
I liked Fry’s. But they turned into a half empty warehouse years before the pandemic. Made it pointless to go to.
NewEgg freed me from Frys. 10x the selection for half the price.
Yep. And especially small items like chargers and computer accessories, you could find for cheaper online elsewhere. Fry's also had inventory issues for a long time now, with shelves being very empty for a long time.
I remember when it was called incredible universe they went all out on their grand opening. Live bands fireworks. Wow gonna miss it.
Different store, CEO John Roach. Fry’s Electronics was founded by the three Fry brothers and Kathy Holder. They took over the Incredible Universe locations, but not the business.
Microcenter is the new go to place!
They aren't everywhere
@@nicholasthompson7690 yea... but that’s what let’s them survive. They’ve been only getting busier. Microcenter still have 25 locations and I live near two of them. So life is good
"If you needed a gadget, you knew you could find it at Frys" LOL Frys stores were empty LONG before lock downs....not paying your vendors will do that.
Yes in recent years, but in the good-old-days, Fry's had everything you needed and stuff you didn't know you needed.
@@Kewlzter The "Good Ol Days" was a lonnnnggg time ago. This video buys the Frys line that they shut down because of COVID, which is not true. Frys has been on life support for about 5 yrs, and their trouble with vendors date back over 10 yrs ago. BEFORE COVID, Frys blamed their empty shelves on the Trump admin for tariffs on Chinese goods...neglecting to say they stiffed their venders (which started the empty shelf syndrome) long before Trump took office.
@@Skulllywag I'm sure it was a combination. For example, Fry's may had decided on a plan, a focus of products that could sustain them. Just so happened, those key products were subject to tarrifs once they started.
Remember back in your college days, when you only had just enough food to last you through the week until pay day, and then your rations somehow became spoiled/ruined? It's like that.
@@Kewlzter I don't know if you have visited a Frys in the last 5 yrs, or done any research on them. Two years ago (before COVID), my Frys had TWO motherboards in stock, ONE stick of SDRAM, yet two walls of computer chairs. Their TV department was almost empty. When you pay your employees based on commissions, and venders refuse to deal with you because of non-payment...it's a recipe for disaster when competing with Walmart and Amazon who were both selling TONS of Chinese electronics despite the tariffs which Frys SAID was THEIR problem (before they said COVID was the problem).
@@Skulllywag you're missing the point put poor management aside for a moment.
I'm aware of the poor state the stores were in. But their statement about covid, and tariffs could be true.
Every business makes plans to be a success. They may have had plans, and could've been making efforts to improve their stores.
Just as you have dirty dishes in the sink, and you plan to clean them in the morning, only to discover there's a water outage. Can we say, your kitchen was filthy long before the outage, and ignore your efforts and intentions? 😂
That reporter obviously didn't shop in the store for past 2 years. The stores were virtually empty and all of the merchandise was off-brand crap. Last time I was there, they didn't even have one single desktop or laptop computer. But they did have tons of bottled water stacked all over the place.
Yeah, I was expecting them to go out of business well over a year ago, but they kept muddling along.
I worked for Frys years ago and they had problems behind the scenes way before COVID or Amazon. This is more than just "well, its tough times".
i am sure they had problems way before covid. i remember i bought RAm, it didnt work (brand new), got a new pair (it didnt work), i think they turned around and resold nonworking one but i dont know
@@aurinkobay7118 Yes that did happen often.
Yeah, their inventory control was always poor and openbox policy hurt them severely after they stopped using the white labels and offering discounts. I think that decision was the beginning of the end, and it was at least 15 years ago. They never made any competent effort at competing online. Their failed cybersquatting lawsuit and years-late deployment of fryselectronics.com or whatever their original domain was, was a limp effort well after newegg and others secured strong names with websites done right. Even once they got frys.com, using their website was a joke. Searching sucked, categories didn't have good filtering and sorting functions, realtime stock was unreliable, users had to try to decide which stores to place online orders from... And this was right up to the end in the 20-teens. It would have been mediocre in 1999. If they weren't a privately held company, the shareholders would probably sued the management years ago. They thoroughly trashed their own name and frankly kept running 5-6 years longer than they should have. Covid and market changes had nothing to do with it. It was 100% bad management.
@@ExaltedDuck The Fry’s website really had a horrible search engine.
Will they be selling their remaining products at discounted prices or nah? Maybe I could wait by their dumpster to collect the good stuff? 😭
They will probably throw out everything, but not in dumpsters.
The thing is for the last couple years they didn't have any merchandise in their stores.
I don't think knock off colognes and as seen on TV oven mittens are worth anything.
So sad. I know I was upset when my Kmart had closed down. It was the only store when I was little that my mom could afford to shop! I blame Amazon and Wal-Mart for alot of places closing down.
Blame? Why blame a store for selling the SAME items for less? I call it thinning the herd.
Naaa these companies had literal years to catch up and stayed stagnant
I don't like Amazon, but at least I don't have to deal with high pressure salesman when I shop there or online. It's what's turning me off into going to BestBuy now.
@@garcjr Best Buy just let go most full time employees. So now you can look forward to online shopping only for electronics.
Kmart sucks!
I'm an old software engineer and used to go to the original store in CA. Back then the store was small and very odd because it was a grocery store but some aisles had computer parts. Over the years more stores opened and I'd be in there often because computers were advancing so fast I'd need a new machine every few months. And hard drives were so small I was always getting more, faster drives. ABout 20 years computers became fast enough to do pretty much everything and I stopped upgrading.
Damn I love FRYS IN ANAHEIM OF LA PALMA AVE OFF THE 91
So sad loved fry's
I will always remember going to this store with my dad when I was 6. I used to play around in the aisles with the left over golf store flooring. They had massive stickers on the floor that were images of water ponds, grass patches, and dirt spots. I would jump from one grass patch to another like the regular tile was lava while my dad was checking out the motherboards. Then when we were finished shopping, I would ask for a gumball. They had this old school gumball machine at the exit/entrance.
Good times. I'm definitely sad I'll never get to experience that again.
At one time Fry's was like a Radio Shack on crack. You couldn't keep me out of there. Eventually I guess the Amazon Effect had a lot to do with it. Their prices were not competitive, selection was minimal, and you needed a lawyer to return something, even if it was within policy.
Often the team members are not mentioned during this - I hope they quickly find other jobs.
same same same.. i never had a return issue but selection was not existent. almost everything was on special order
Why didn't somebody take over this store! I loved this store !
Best buy is next
best buy sucks i dont know .. i bought a mobile phone i returned it the next day .. i had to fight tooth and nail to return it
They were close but they have made a comeback.
Best Buy has rebounded.
Books is where the money is now. Even target is getting in on the game filling half their media section with books dwarfing the cd and blu-ray isles
I have gotten terrible treatment by the staff at Fry's in Milton Georgia, the patriot brand USB drives and micro SD cards always fail. not really too upset or surprised by the company going under...
yeah, from what my friend said who was a near regular for a decade; fry's employees were either great and very helpful, or oblivious dolts.
Doubly so for managers, either they would bend over to help you, or were mean spirited dickheads.
Some stores were known for being great, some such as the Palo Alto California one had a reputation that spanned the surrounding area; for being a bunch of surly unhelpful c%nts.
@@anasevi9456 they would respond if you were an idiot and belittle you for asking a question about something and the price you found at the Fry's website. Like who told you that was the price thier cell coverage was spotty at best then if you showed the page on your phone they would say we dont have it or we don't sell it at that low price...
Is the one in Milton still open? I heard that they closed the one in Duluth at Gwinnett Place about a year ago. I want to go in Fry's one last time.
@@toddstewart9070 I don't know, been a few years since I went...
@@JettBlast I guess at least we've still got Micro Center. Hopefully they can hang on.
This was once the most awesome computer diy on the planet. That was the attraction to buy other items in the store for me. When they no longer focus on the pc and instead focused on the other items I never returned and told the people I use to go there with that they would file for bankruptcy just like every other store like circuit city and such that did. And here we are. Miss those days free cds with code examples. Motherboards up the ying yang. Look at that 8x cdrom.
I didn’t know Frys was still around, I thought they all closed down years ago even before toysrus closed down.
Sounds like that could be a Mandela Effect. I remember that too.
Great It will be another empty building in AZ for the Homeless to hangout at
When Frys first opened in Texas (Arlington) it was a necessary evil. They were the only REAL game in town. Their customer service sucked, rebates on everything (to fuel their vice presidents gambling habit) that took forever to be fulfilled if at all, returns that were a nightmare.... and the "walk of shame" was legendary. I seriously thought Fry's would have filed bankruptcy a decade ago, and it blows my mind they kept the doors open the last few years with 3/4 empty shelves, and empty parking lots (that were packed in the 90's).
Hastings... now Fry's.... Sad thing ... other store closings are coming😭😭😢😢
All of my favorite electronic stores are gone now. Crazy Eddie's, Nobody Beats The Wiz, Silo's, Computer City, Circuit City, Bryn Mawr Stereo(Tweeter), Comp USA. Best Buy is hanging on by a thread, but even they are not as fun to go to anymore. Moving from NJ to AZ , I was just getting acquainted with Fry's & Micro Center. But By then (2012) Fry's was already going down.
What will the old Fry's Electronics stores become?
Once the inventory and customer service are cut...there was no reason to hassle with DRIVING to Fry’s. Then the end is inevitable.
What a shame I remember going in there getting my Processor changed
This stings worse than when CompUSA closed down. I wonder if the stores will be still open for a little while longer, to clear out stock maybe. Ill have to ride down there one last time and get me a new comp case or something, if they haven't locked the doors for good yet.
I’m hoping to pick up some Nintendo signage from them.
@@thelastdragon5551 Id like to get a Fry's yellow microchip mascot figure and put it on my desk. I don't know what that thing is called, but it would look cool on my desk.
@@toddstewart9070 I’m about to head over to my location in NW Houston. See what’s going on.
@@thelastdragon5551 They are all closed and locked from what I hear, I could be wrong maybe depending on the store. Take a picture of the place maybe. I'm going to the one near me and take a picture of myself in front of it tomorrow.
@@toddstewart9070 Definitely will. Just for the memories if not anything else. It’ll be on the way to my Walmart anyways.
Will they have an online store?
"Changed to the market and due to the market"? They're just as out of touch in the end as they have been for the last 20 years. They floated on a wave of luck as the era of irrational exuberance made their sector one that was difficult to fail in. But times changed and they didn't. Their inventory management was terrible and their fledgling efforts at an online presence were so bad and so late they weren't even laughable. Their demise was inevitable as of 5-6 years ago, if not sooner. I really feel sorry for the employees. They deserved better.
Made $$$$ Was PIC, Sup3,sup2,sup1, even did the customer service safe area! cant forget the E-cage!!!I would hate doing recounts on inventory!!!!! Mayne hold up!!! I still hold the record for the most direct connect's from Randy!!!!! Houston,Webster, SouthHouston, 23.34.39.!!!! Ac blow cold!!!!!!!
Good riddance. A store that treats customers as thrives. Never liked it the two times I actually went inside.
Good thing I got all of my recording studio before they close out crazy and sad
The only surprise is that this didn't happen four years ago.
It is sad but now we are in the digital age, old stores should go away ....New stores will growth ......
That's what happened when you sell your products too cheap you end up short with money 💰
Bring on the clearance sales!
That's what happened when people decide to buy online instead of going to the store. A lot more store's will be closing.
Damm this sucks!!!!!😢😢😢😢😢😢🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻
you’ll be missed Fry’s electronics ,forever in our hearts.
Walmart shoppers killed Fry's
Fry’s was always better than Worst Buy! They had better prices and better selection. I was able to return or get store credit without receipt just by giving my phone number. They had a month return policy on defective items, Worst Buy only 15! In emergency, I was always able to get it from Fry’s! Now I’ll have to wait a few days or a week to have it shipped online! Very stressful! And it’s true, they were leaning on closing down way before the Cabrona virus was even heard of! I asked employees why so empty, and every time, I was told a different reason!
What's going to happen to the Fry's gift cards
I haven't been to one of these stores in nearly 10 years.
if dust by can sit here and make it through the Corona and do what they're supposed to that means Fry's electronics can but I heard that they don't like to pay their vendors and when you do that that leads to this right here what's happening
So sad. Bought most of my initial computer equipment there and just loved to walk around and 'window shop'. Hope the employees find something suitable fast.
I got my first laptop from Frys too.
New Egg.
More taxes lost in California, recall Newsome
One of the worst companies to work for. Filled with criminal activities and embezzlement, they didn’t care about their employees. Good riddance, the Fry’s brothers, Ken Lutz, and all the idiots working for them deserve this. 😂
Can’t get Chinese junk,Oh my., Amazon has a limitless supply
maybe well get a tweeters or parts express
Rip
i got my ps2 from fries 😭
They could have thrived if they got into selling PS5 consoles and streaming devices that people want to buy like the fire stick.
Is he actually crying over a store?
you need to realize that Frys electronics in early 90s was the place to be .. they Had EVERYTHING ... that is where i bought all my hardware for my first 2 pcs. yeah it is def sad to tears
@@aurinkobay7118 You are correct sir. Back in the day they were really something, much better than Best Buy, CompUSA, and Radio Shack combined. The electronics mega-store. I may just ride down there just to walk around the place and buy something one last time, that is if they still let people inside.
CEO was not progressive, too stagnant
it's very difficult for electronic stores with an incredible amount of government oversight
?
😆 more oversight = out of business? How is Amazon / Costco / Walmart making it then? You’re the second funniest clown after Trump.
Bull.