frys .com

You searched for frys .com	Now, we will help you find the website for frys .com


You will find the correct link for frys .com below the following article.

Fry's Electronics is a medium-size chain of software, consumer electronics, and computer superstores headquartered in Silicon Valley. Starting with one store located in Sunnyvale, California, USA, the chain now boasts over 32 stores located in several Western states, and one each in Illinois, Indiana, and Georgia (near Atlanta).

Fry's Electronics was started in 1985 by the three Fry brothers, John, Randy, and Dave, as well as Kathryn Kolder. The brothers were heir to the Fry's Supermarkets chain, but had little interest in grocery store retailing. Instead of groceries, the brothers experimented with a single 20,000 square foot (2,000 m²) store in Sunnyvale, California. Fry's Food & Drug stores are not affiliated with Fry's Electronics, but are owned and operated by Kroger.

The original Sunnyvale store stocked numerous high-tech supplies, such as integrated circuits, software, computer components, test and measurement equipment, various types of consumer electronics and numerous other computer geek delights. Since the store also had massive displays of soda and snack foods, home appliances, as well as technical books and T-shirts; a running Silicon Valley joke is that a geek can live his/her entire life without going to any store other than Fry's. Most of the stores now sell 'geek' stuff like Dilbert merchandise, as well as large home appliances like dishwashers and refrigerators.

As the high-tech side of the business expanded, the original Sunnyvale store (which was located near Oakmead Parkway and Lakeside Drive) was closed, and a newer, larger store was opened across Lawrence Expressway on Kern Avenue. For a number of years during the 1990s, a computer surplus/salvage store named Weird Stuff was located across the street from the Kern Avenue 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 co-location helped distinguish Fry's from the many other stores within Silicon Valley selling computer components.

The Kern Avenue store also pioneered a concept that endures to this day: store themes. This store was designed to look like the innards of a giant computer. The walls were adorned with IC patterns and blinking lights, and the floor resembled a giant printed circuit board. The outside of the building was painted to look like a huge DIL integrated circuit, and the external door handles were designed like ENTER and ESC keyboard keys. One of the next stores in Campbell resembles an Ancient Egyptian tomb. The outside is ziggurat-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. Store #8 in Woodland Hills offers an Alice in Wonderland theme, while the Fry's in Burbank has a '50s-style Science Fiction B-movie motif. Another one of Fry's Electronics stores in Berryessa, San Jose has a Maya temple inerior theme. The Las Vegas store has an immense slot machine as its facade. The Austin store similarly sports a giant piano on its front. 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.

The original series of stores displayed elaborate themes and various other painstakingly designed props. The Burbank store feature many huge statues, including a huge robot named Gort, 100-foot-long giant ants hanging from the ceiling, a flying saucer protruding from the front of the store, a statue of Darth Vader, and '57 Chevy Buicks gutted for use as dining tables in the cafe. After all construction and expenses, including land purchase and theming, the Burbank store cost USD$15 million when it was opened in 1995.

More recently, Fry's has drastically reduced the elaborateness of its theming. This move was prompted after the San Marcos store was built. The theme was Atlantis, and the cost of the construction and upkeep of the huge aquariums and rare fish was apparently so high that Fry's decided to discontinue elaborate theming because of the high cost.[citation needed] In addition, several days after the grand opening of the store, several of the Store's prized sharks died. San Marcos, however, is said to be one of the most strikingly beautiful Fry's locations open today. The Oxnard store only has large pictures of Oxnard's strawberry farming past. The Oxnard store and future stores will only feature Spartan decorative elements.

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 quite popular with the more technology-oriented population. The stores often run special sales and host events, such as the launching of new products and free giveaways. Such events jam parking lots and intersections for blocks in all directions of the stores.[citation needed] As with many stores, Friday afternoons and the weekends are the most active times for Fry's Electronics. The parking lots at Fry's are almost always 50 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 Electronics stores have more retail floor space and have a wider and much more advanced selection than the Best Buy stores. While Best Buy only sells fully built computers with some basic accessories, Fry's sells all the parts for a consumer to make their own.