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Fry's Electronics company history timeline

1996

Unfortunately, the business model was unsuccessful, and the 17 Incredible Universe stores would go on to lose $90 million by 1996.

1997

In 1997, Forbes reported on a series of issues about Fry's customer service and unorthodox business practices.

According to people interviewed by the San Jose Mercury News for a 1997 company profile, Fry thought through the idea in his own fashion: "He measured the ratio of low prices to high sales.

Fry’s acquired another eccentric electronics store, Incredible Universe, in 1997.

2001

In 2001, it threatened to sue Garret Maki for scanning and posting the company's print ads on the Web using the domain frysad.com.

2002

Sales: $2 billion (2002 est.)

2003

In 2003, actors Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, and future California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sued Fry's for $10 million each for posting their images on television sets on their print ads and flyers without permission.

2004

In 2004, the family-run company came full circle with the opening of a store in Concord, California, the first to be located in Contra Costa County, where 50 years earlier Charles Fry opened his first supermarket.

2006

In October 2006, a grand reopening of Frys.com introduced the online store with the same name as the retail outlets.

2007

In 2007, Fry's Electronics lost a domain dispute against Prophet Partners Inc., an online advertising company with thousands of generic and descriptive domain names.

2008

In 2008, Fry's vice president of merchandising and operations, Ausaf Umar Siddiqui, was charged by federal prosecutors in an illegal kickback scheme involving Fry's vendors, fueling sales with mail-in rebates.

In 2008, the Federal Communications Commission found Fry's failed to place the required "analog-only tuner" consumer-alert label on analog televisions, fining them $384,000.

2019

Fry's began with one store in Sunnyvale, California, which expanded to 34 stores in nine states at its peak in 2019.

2021

On February 24, 2021, Fry's announced the immediate and temporary closure of all of its stores due to the chain ceasing operations.

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Founded
1985
Company founded
Headquarters
San Jose, CA
Company headquarter
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Fry's Electronics competitors

Company nameFounded dateRevenueEmployee sizeJob openings
Vudu2004-180-
Williams Sonoma1956$7.7B28,2001,420
Kroger1883$147.1B465,00012,894
Staples1986$18.2B75,0002,065
The Home Depot1978$159.5B500,00121,993
Big Lots1967$4.7B22,900-
O'Reilly Auto Parts1957$16.7B77,6544,983
Micro Center1979$2.4B2,75095
Best Buy1966$41.5B102,0001,487
Wawa1964$13.0B37,000401

Fry's Electronics history FAQs

Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Fry's Electronics, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Fry's Electronics. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Fry's Electronics. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Fry's Electronics. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Fry's Electronics and its employees or that of Zippia.

Fry's Electronics may also be known as or be related to Fry s Electronics, Fry's Electronics, Fry's Electronics Inc, Fry's Electronics, Inc. and Fry’s Electronics Inc.