Fry’s Electronics continues its fit despite the lack of traffic during these hard times

Fry’s Electronics has been surprisingly holding its ground while it pressures companies to accept its new consignment approach of product sales–which makes any loss of sales, solely, the manufacturer’s problem. This is similar to other big companies like Walmart and Best Buy.

Fry’s have been refusing to add more products into their stock from companies until these companies agree to the new demands. This has been going on since early 2019, yet the stores still remain open to this day, as Fry’s continues to hold its ground.

The details on how this works and why Fry’s is doing it has already been covered in our story here, last year. So we won’t dive so deep into the details this time. Instead, we wanted to focus on the current shape of things (within their retail stores at least).

Despite the current trials the world has been facing with the outbreak and the reduced number of physical shoppers due to it, Fry’s has continued to keep its stores open. The look inside appears to have changed to reduce the idea that the company is hurting, but the bandaid doesn’t quite do the job.

Last year, going into this year, Fry’s used to have a wide-open layout for the stores, with half (or more) of the shelves empty.

Now, sections have been closed off and blocked visually with long runs of mostly empty shelving to deter your eyes away from that. They might be hoping you won’t notice the massive amount of space behind those blockades and assume that it is just an overabundance of warehouse inventory space. It’s more than obvious though and doesn’t really help any. Especially if you have shopped there in the past.

Their customer service desks are all roped off. This is where the staff normally handle returns and other services that didn’t involve general check-out (general check-out is what the main, and much larger, register area is for). They are likely having the few cashiers that are still working there handle these tasks now to save money.

The cafe area in the middle of the store is still shut down, tables and chairs all gutted out and stored likely within the barricaded areas. Doesn’t look like they will be serving food anytime soon. This part is no surprise though as the stores likely wouldn’t have wanted to deal with the Covid restrictions, even if the company wasn’t going through its own conversion pains (then again, we could be wrong).

Joining the fate of the cafe and customer service area, is the back theater room, speaker demo rooms, as well as the entire TV section. All of which can be seen in the background of the below image, carefully hidden by their brocade of newly formed shelving space.

Space that used to be filled with isle after isle of diverse product categories, now has most of these isles removed. Instead, large products are spread about to try to fill in the space to make it look less empty. You can still see the marks on the ground from where the isles of shelves used to sit.

Boxes that used to be stored in the back warehouse area (the true warehouse area) now lining the shelves so that there aren’t as many shelves with nothing on them. Sometimes not having anything to do with the random products nearby.

There isn’t a lot of structure to these areas since everything has been spread all over to fill these spaces in with. For example, the section that used to display all of their Apple products (computers and peripherals) that runs between other computer peripherals and supplies, now displays random DJ speakers on those surfaces. The shelves around them still focusing on computer peripherals and accessories. You can also find DJ speakers stocked randomly throughout the store, in-between isles, and on other shelves. Most of which are important generic brands you might not be familiar with.

It isn’t just DJ speakers either. There are all sorts of imported products that seem to have taken the place of manufacturers that refuse to adhere to the pressure of Fry’s new program.

Meanwhile, you will still find all sorts of shelves that still remain empty today. Apparently, bringing the product from the back out and onto the shelves isn’t enough to fill in all the space with.

Podiums where you would always catch Fry’s sales employees hovering around, just waiting to help you make a sale, are abandoned, with only a few sales employees covering the entire store. While I was there, I must have run into the same gentleman three times in random areas of the store. The only other employees I saw were at the front (security, registers, and tech area).

It’s impressive that Fry’s has been able to maintain the stores this whole time. Even during the reduced foot traffic that many stores are suffering from. It is likely because Fry’s usually fully buys the land that it builds stores upon. So Fry’s (usually) owns the store, owns the land, and even rents the retail space around it to other businesses. It’s a lucrative business model. Now, if only the company could play fair with the major manufacturers that used to fill all of these shelves with product. If they keep this up, we may start seeing a majority of these stores close down.

It’s too bad, as Fry’s Electronics has always been a hot spot for consumers looking to get their hands on new electronics, games, computers, peripherals, media, TV, audio, appliances, and more. They used to have one of the best collections of specialty electronic parts and pieces, as well as other categories of related hobbies. It’s one of those spots where you may not always agree with their practices in general, but you still shopped there because they had what you needed. That’s no so much the case anymore (or at all, really). It will be interesting to see what happens from here.

Again, for more information on how all of this started back in early 2019, you can read about it in our original story we published last year.