Maybe it wasn't the long death spiral that Sears, the Generalissimo Francisco Franco of retailers, has been in for lo, these many years, but it was easy to see this coming way back when Jive 45 ground trade with China to a near halt. The shelves at Fry's were suddenly empty, giving the look of the final phase of a liquidation sale.
How or why they hung on for so long may now become known, but figuratively speaking I would hold my nose every time I had to shop there. Commission-based sales staff was entirely unfamiliar with the customer-focused approach to retailing. You were generally on your own, or if you were interested in bigger ticket items, subjected to fast talking pitches for whatever best served the sales person's interests.
The only redeeming quality was the architectural themes of their stores. Wild West, Aztec, Egyptian (the closest one to me), Space Age, just to name a few. I hope someone documents the interiors of these stores, which were far more elaborate than their exteriors only hinted at. There haven't been exteriors like this since Best Products was still around.
Fry's was originally a local grocery chain. Those stores all closed in the '80s, around the same time the electronics stores began popping up. I was surprised to find Fry's still operated grocery stores in Tucson on my first visit to Nate after he moved back there. I think they're owned by Kroger, so those stores will likely continue on.
Pictured top to bottom: Burbank, Campbell. The Campbell building had been a non-descript Apple facility for several years before Fry's moved in and reworked it. For whatever reason, the pasted image of the Aztec themed San Jose store doesn't want to show up in preview mode.
How or why they hung on for so long may now become known, but figuratively speaking I would hold my nose every time I had to shop there. Commission-based sales staff was entirely unfamiliar with the customer-focused approach to retailing. You were generally on your own, or if you were interested in bigger ticket items, subjected to fast talking pitches for whatever best served the sales person's interests.
The only redeeming quality was the architectural themes of their stores. Wild West, Aztec, Egyptian (the closest one to me), Space Age, just to name a few. I hope someone documents the interiors of these stores, which were far more elaborate than their exteriors only hinted at. There haven't been exteriors like this since Best Products was still around.
Fry's was originally a local grocery chain. Those stores all closed in the '80s, around the same time the electronics stores began popping up. I was surprised to find Fry's still operated grocery stores in Tucson on my first visit to Nate after he moved back there. I think they're owned by Kroger, so those stores will likely continue on.
Pictured top to bottom: Burbank, Campbell. The Campbell building had been a non-descript Apple facility for several years before Fry's moved in and reworked it. For whatever reason, the pasted image of the Aztec themed San Jose store doesn't want to show up in preview mode.
