Fry’s Electronics Closing All Stores: Customers Mourn Loss. ‘RIP’

Fry’s Electronics is closing all of its stores after almost 36 years in business.

The tech retailer announced the decision on Wednesday, posting a notice to its customers on its website after removing the ability to purchase merchandise from the site.

The announcement from the company read, in part, “Fry’s Electronics, Inc. has made the difficult decision to shut down its operations and close its business permanently as a result of changes in the retail industry and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Fry’s Electronics had 31 theme-based stores that were located in California, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, KRON 4 reported. Themes ranged from Aztec to underwater Neptune motifs.

The company said it will issue an “orderly wind-down” of its stores on Wednesday, ceasing all operations on that day.

The wind-down is expected to reduce costs, avoid additional liabilities, minimize the impact to customers, vendors, landlords, and employees, and maximize the value of Fry’s Electronics assets for creditors and stakeholders, the company said.

Fans of Fry’s Electronics were sad to see the stores go and took to Twitter to pay their respects to the company. Many customers of the electronics retailer posted a mournful “RIP” to Fry’s and shared a memory of shopping at its locations.

Other customers said their final goodbyes in a tweet and cherished the time they spent at its stores.

Fry’s said that it is reaching out to its customers that have repairs in-process and vendors to help them understand the proposed next steps. It was unclear what those next steps might entail.

The company did provide contact information for customers that are currently having equipment repaired. These customers may contact the company via email at customerservice@frys.com to arrange for pick up of their devices. Customers that still require repair under a Performance Service Contract can call 1-800-811-1745.

Consignment vendors can arrange for pick up of their consignment inventory at Fry’s Electronics’ stores by emailing omnichannel@frys.com

According to KRON 4, Fry’s was founded in Sunnyvale, California, in 1985 by the three Fry brothers - John, Randy, and Dave – and Kathy Kolder. The stores were designed to provide one-stop shopping for tech products with over 50,000 electronic items in each store.

Fry’s Electronics joins a growing list of retailers that have closed their doors due to the impacts of the COVID pandemic.