On 13 Aug 2012 at 10:05, Fred Cisin wrote:
Fry's would have to improve several orders of
magnitude to reach
"terrible".
I'm a litte embarrassed to confess this...
When I lived in the Bay Area, Fry's opened not far from where I
lived. I initially started going there not to purchase electronics
components, but Canfield's Diet Fudge Soda. Fry's was just about the
only place you could find the stuff and I'd buy it by the case.
John Fry was behind the counter in those days and willing to chat.
He is a member of the Fry family, who own a profitable grocery chain.
He'd observed (what he told me) that a supermarket operates on very
thin margins (2-3 percent is typical), has to deal with vast amounts
of spoilage and constant negotiating with suppliers. He figured that
electronics must be easier, judging by the profit margins turned in
by electronics stores. He figured that he could do better by
applying what he'd learned in the grocery business.
That worked for quite a while--the first Fry's was marvelous--you
could even buy devkits there. Vendors held demos and talks and the
place became very popular with the geek-ish folk.
But I think John ran into trouble with selling PCs and components.
The people behind the counter generally had the technical
sophistication of your typical supermarket checker. I remember vast
stocks of unsold and obsolete Everex stuff being offered for peanuts
and components giving way to flashier stuff.
I think it's remarkable that Fry's has survived and prospered in the
market, but I wouldn't go shopping there for parts any more. I do
still have unopened bags of DE9 shells and pins and other connectors
all with Fry's labels. But they're over 20 years old. I still
occasionally reach into a bag labeled "Sunnyvale Electronics" for a
soldering tip for my Weller TCP iron.
--Chuck