Fry's Arrives In Las Vegas

By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 1/27/2003

Las Vegas — CE and appliance emporium Fry's Electronics opened the doors to its first Nevada location here earlier this month, raising the store count of the San Jose, Calif.-based chain to 21.

The soft opening, which was pushed back to CES after a planned pre-Christmas debut, was followed by an official grand opening the week after the trade show. The 155,000-square-foot store reportedly carries some 70,000 items, ranging from big-screen TVs, computer components and office furniture to refrigerators, books and toys. Amenities include a cafeteria, located in the center of the warehouse-size store.

Fry's aggressive pricing is expected to add further heat to Las Vegas' already contentious market, where Best Buy, Circuit City, RadioShack, Ultimate Electronics, Good Guys/Wow!, R.C. Willey and a spate of full-line retailers presently compete for CE sales.

In keeping with Fry's tradition of designing store facades that thematically reflect their markets, the Las Vegas location features a slot machine motif and entrance stanchions that resemble stacks of oversized quarters.