Fry's Electronics

Fry's Electronics is a large software, consumer electronics and computer superstore chain headquartered in Silicon Valley. Starting with one store located in Sunnyvale, California, USA, the chain now boasts over 25 stores scattered about several western states, and one each in Illinois, Indiana, and Georgia (near Atlanta).

History

Fry's Electronics was started in 1985 by the three Fry's brother's, John, Randy, and Dave, and Kathryn Kolder. The brothers were heir to the Fry's Supermarkets chain, but had little interest in grocery store retailing. Instead of groceries, the brother experimented with a single 20,000 sq. ft. store in Sunnyvale, California.

The Sunnyvale store stocked numerous high-tech supplies, such as ICs, software, computer components, all types of consumer electronics and numerous other computer geek delights. Since the store also has massive displays of soda and snack foods, home appliances, as well as Dilbert t-shirts; a running Silicon valley joke is that a geek can live his/her entire life without going to any other store other than Fry's. Most of the stores sell home appliances like dishwashers and refrigerators as well.

For a number of years during the 1990s, a computer surplus/salvage store named Weird Stuff was located across the street from the Sunnyvale Fry's store. The combination of a large store selling new computer components and another large store selling surplus computer components made the location a prime shopping stop for computer hobbyists. This fortutious co-location helped distinguish Fry's from the many other stores within Silicon valley selling computer components.

The first store also pioneered a concept that endures to this day: store themes. The original store was designed to look like the innards of a giant computer. The walls were adorned with IC patterns and blinking lights. One of the next stores in Campbell resembles an Ancient Egyptian tomb. The outside is pyramid-ish and the inside is embellished with artifacts that look like they could have been lifted straight from King Tut's tomb. The Fountain Valley location pays tribute to the ruins of Ancient Rome, complete with a flowing aqueduct. The Palo Alto location has a wild west flavor. Compared to other stores' modern themes (such as Best Buy), Fry's is starkly utilitarian in its arrangement of products and the way they are presented. However, several stores have recently gone through major rearrangements of the store floor; though mostly just to use space more efficiently. Some of the stores were formerly Incredible Universe stores.

All the stores are enormous, often stocking hundreds of copies of one product. Some stores (such as the Campbell location) also have a special "Bose theater" that showcases the abilities of the diminutive speakers. At the Campbell location, a customer can bring his own DVD and play it in the replica theater.

Today the stores are still a geek Mecca. The stores often run special sales and host events, such as the launching of new products and free give-aways. Such events jam parking lots and intersections for blocks in all directions of the stores. Understandably, Friday afternoons and the weekends are their most active times. However, parking lots are almost always fifty percent full during business hours.

As of 2005, Best Buy, the nationwide consumer electronics specialty store, is the main competitor to Fry's. Generally, the Fry's stores are larger in square footage and have a wider and much more advanced selection than the Best Buy stores. While Best Buy only sells fully built computers, Fry's sells all the parts for a consumer to make his own.

Fry's practices the unusual policy of placing returned and repackaged merchandise on the same display counters with new merchandise (though they are usually clearly labeled).

Customer service

Many (but by no means all) customers have reported frustrating customer service experiences at Fry's stores, with some having established websites to discuss their experiences. The level of customer support available at the stores is something of an inside joke among geeks, who are considered the chain's target market. Fry's is reputed to be even less attentive to less-knowledgeable customers. Another large joke is the amount of paperwork and the ancient sales computers. Complex orders have been said to take up to half an hour to complete.

Fry's advertising slogan is "Home of Fast, Friendly, Courteous Service," which is perceived by some customers as humorously ironic.

Advertising

The company is a major purchaser of newspaper advertising. In Silicon Valley, it is normal for multiple full-page ads of Fry's sales to be in the San Jose Mercury News on multiple days of the week. On certain days, they buy their own 8-sided full-page ad as a section separate from the main newspaper.

These advertisements however have been considered notorious by critics for many times being at the level of bait and switch, whereby extremely limited supplies of a product are sold at a very low price but are quickly sold out once one arrives at the store.

"Renting"

Fry's is noted for stocking refurbished returned or previously defective items. This allows them to be sold at a lower cost. Because of this policy however, they must themselves have a generous return policy in order to compensate for the likelihood that the previously used items that were sold were still possibly defective, or hadn't been fully fixed. Many customers have used this system to their advantage, by buying a product for a while and then returning it for a full refund. While all kinds of stores have problems with return fraud, Fry's is seen as especially vunerable because of their need to be generous with returns to offset their policy of selling refurbished merchandise.

Locations and themes

Further reading

• "The Future of Retail," Wired 6.09, September 1998, page 146. Photo essay showing customers and their purchases; reference to customer service.

External links

• Fry's Electronics official website
• Fry's Electronics History
• Fry's Photo Project, containing photos of most Fry's stores.
• Wired Magazine article; Issue 2.01, 1994
• A page discussing customers' experiences with Fry's customer service
• Outpost.com - Fry's online store (note that the products there are not always stocked at the brick and mortar stores)