Frys Electronics: RIP?

Figure 1 - Fry's Electronics, Sunnyvale. Very few vehicles in the parking lot at 3:30 PM.

Fry’s Electronics was a mainstay for electronics experimenters from the 1980s through at least 2018 and one of the “must see” locations during visits to the Bay Area of California. They supplied many of the electronic parts, computers, tools, test equipment and accessories needed by Silicon Valley startups and other geeks living in the area. 

Figure 2 - No Apple computers, except one lone 21.5" iMac with mismatched keyboard.

I made my annual stop at the Sunnyvale store after landing in San Jose for an engineering conference this last week and was shocked to find such a lack of product on shelves. There were few big names and what rare products I saw stocked were “no-name” Chinese brands. Most of the computers and related peripherals were gone. No cameras, just one used (returned) GoPro, no car audio, very few electronic components, no test equipment, and on and on. Now if you are a gamer, you would have been in luck. Plenty of stuff for them. A year ago, there were so many customers they needed dozens of cashiers. That day, with only a dozen customers in the entire store, only one was needed. 

Figure 3 - Hardly any laptops on display. Just a few printers and LCD displays.

Local news reports that while Fry’s claims they are waiting to restock, they apparently have been making this claim since at least October. Some reports also suggest the company is moving to a consignment model for suppliers. This ought to go over like the proverbial “lead balloon”. What supplier wants their inventory to sit on shelves and get paid only when someone buys something? Oh, ahem, by the way, electronic products generally only have a six-month life cycle before the next “new thing” comes out, so consignment products that sit too long will lose their value quickly. 

Figure 4 - No car audio on display.

Figure 5 - Lots of empty component pegs...

Figure 6 - Just one lone checkout clerk with smart phone.

I suspect the real story is that Amazon has kicked another “brick and mortar” butt and Fry’s is trying to find a new recipe in order to survive. Well, I suspect a consignment model is simply not going to work. RIP Fry’s Electronics. Sad...