I find it quite interesting how even Target's very-small-format stores are still getting full-size (or nearly so) electronics departments, even while other stores (particularly Fred Meyer) seem to be phasing theirs out. It's particularly strange since I never seem to see people shopping in the electronics section! I have to say, Target has done a very nice job of making them look good, regardless. Also, I love the line drawing of Bullseye off to the left of the tech sign!
Now that you mention it, it is a bit surprising that Target gave electronics as much room as they did. Electronics traditionally have low profit margins and so a lot of retailers have downsized or completely moved away from electronics. Perhaps Target has some contracts with wireless companies to make having at least a full-sized mobile desk profitable.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of electronics, have you visited the Fry's Electronics stores in Renton and/or Wilsonville? I heard there was a report last month saying that there is a possibility that the Renton store might be demolished (and obviously closed) to make room for an apartment building project, but I don't know if those plans are finalized or not. The Renton store looks pretty similar to the SW Houston Fry's. That's the most generic of the three Houston Fry's locations. The other two, the Greenspoint area store and the NASA store, are both majorly themed after things Houston is famous for. The Greenspoint store is themed after the early petroleum industry and the NASA store is themed after space and the International Space Station. These two are both very unique stores and worth a look if you have not read about them. Je did some blog posts about them last year which I'll link below.
The Wilsonville store is a former Incredible Universe store which makes it somewhat historic just based on that. Unfortunately, that store seems to have a rather ugly and generic look to it. It looks like they took the Incredible Universe decor, stripped it out a bit, and then called it a day.
Fry's is not doing well. Their stores hardly have any inventory and what they have isn't what people want to buy for the most part. I visited the NASA store a few days ago and the entire left half of the store is now walled off and closed to the public (this is something new after my last visit there in around October and Je's last visit in December). Cutting the size of the store and shifting all inventory has made the remaining shelves look a bit fuller, but they're really, really struggling. These stores were nearly the size of a Walmart Supercenter when they were fully open, but it's not unusual for them to only have ~5 shoppers in them at any given time.
Anyway, here the links to the aforementioned special Houston Fry's stores at Je's blog:
NASA: https://southernretail.blogspot.com/2020/06/frys-electronics-nasa-webster-texas-2019.html
Greenspoint: https://southernretail.blogspot.com/2020/06/frys-electronics-west-rd-2019.html
SW Houston (this one appears to be a clone of the Renton store): https://southernretail.blogspot.com/2020/06/frys-electronics-west-houston-2019.html
Yeah, I really don't know the background, but it's certainly an oddity.
DeleteI have visited the Fry's in Renton. It's generic by Fry's standards, but still pretty cool! I'm looking forward to posting that one, but I'd kind of like to make another trip. I visited it a few years back, and it already felt like it was closing then... I don't know how it hasn't closed yet!
I didn't visit the Wilsonville one, but I kind of wish I had since it's clearly an old Incredible Universe store! Sadly, it doesn't look like there's anything left inside, but still. I do really need to visit the old Incredible Universe in the old Supermall in Auburn, which turned into a Sam's Club which is now closed.
It's a shame Fry's did not give the Renton store an aviation theme because that would have really fit with the reputation of Renton, but oh well. Even the generic design that store and the SW Houston Fry's has is still pretty nice and somewhat upscale. There were only a small number of Fry's stores nationwide in general so all of them are neat just for that fact alone.
DeleteThe Houston Incredible Universe turned into a campus for the Houston Community College. HCC has some other retail conversions including a campus at an old Food Lion and a campus at an old Builders Square (Kmart's version of Home Depot). I believe the Wilsonville Incredible Universe was an early example of an Incredible Universe. I went to the grand opening of the Houston Incredible Universe and also the grand opening of the first Fry's in Houston, the Greenspoint area location. Both of those stores had a ton of 'WOW!' factor to them, but Fry's certainly had much better prices which probably explains why they lasted longer, lol.
I'm glad to see that you were able to visit the Renton store and I look forward to seeing those posts.
That store does have a little bit of a Boeing theme, but nothing nearly as cool as many of the older Fry's locations have (I think that Renton location is one of the last ones they built, in 2002). For the most part, it is the generic "Roman Empire" design (as I've been thinking of it). It's still pretty cool, though, and I'm glad I was able to visit it.
DeleteI also wish Incredible Universe was around when I was around, but it was way too short lived for that! It's too bad the only thing left from them seems to be a few repurposed buildings without much of the cool original stuff.