Incredible Universe
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Incredible Universe was the name of a chain of very large consumer-electronics stores in the mid-1990s.
A typical Incredible Universe was at least 185,000 square feet of sales floor and warehouse, an area larger than many shopping malls. The operation was the brainchild of former Tandy CEO John Roach, who foresaw an empire of retail stores that combined shopping with entertainment. Many internal corporate philosophies of Disney theme parks were borrowed; in an Incredible Universe store, retail departments were 'scenes,' employees were 'castmembers,' uniforms were 'costumes,' and so forth. The stores featured a large rotunda area with an actual stage where sales presentations, demos, or even occasional musical acts were performed, and various retail departments (software, music and video, and accessories) were accessible from this rotunda. Moving through the rotunda area would lead one to the main storefront where larger consumer electronics and computers were sold. A store would also generally contain from four to eight sound rooms where particular combinations of audio/video equipment could be demonstrated, and some stores contained McDonald's restaurants and temporary day care facilities where parents could leave their small children while they shopped. Many stores also had a second floor which housed a cafeteria for the staff as well as training and demo rooms. The training rooms were used for demoing new product from vendors to the staff as well as public training on computers, software, and audio/video gear for purchase. Rounding out the computer department was a computer upgrade center which could add that new memory, sound card or modem in just a few minutes. (Remember that this was the early 90's.)
Initially, two stores were opened, in Arlington, Texas and Wilsonville, Oregon; when these proved profitable, parent company Tandy decided to expand quickly, opening an additional 15 stores. During this time, however, with the growth of other retail outlets such as Best Buy, the market became more competitive; this, coupled with what some saw as poor locations for the additional stores and the expense of operating such large facilities, resulted in an overall lack of profitability for the entire enterprise. Of the 17 stores, only six were ever consistently profitable; these six stores were sold to California company Fry's Electronics in 1997. The others were all closed in that same year. As the buildings were so large, they could not be readily adapted to other business purposes, and buyers were so scarce that Tandy sold the empty buildings for mere pennies on the dollar.
Many of the stores closed without any pre-announced warning. The way that many employees found out that the store was closed (and their employment terminated) was when they arrived to work that morning and found that the building's management company had shackled the doors.
The short lived store in Westbury New York was opened on the former location of the famous Roosevelt Raceway race track. This store was eventually bought by Target and remains a Target store to this day. Incredibly enough, the size of the store wasn't big enough for Target, as Target expanded the store in 2006. Many of the stores (including the Westbury, NY store) had some really spectacular deals in the weeks heading to its closure. 2-for-1 sales and items with major price cuts could be had. Surprisingly, they were still selling their extended warranties, SCSP (Star Class Service Plan) to cover the merchandise. Since the warranties were handled by a different division of Tandy, Inc., it appears that they would still be able to honor repairs, however replacements would be questionable.
One of the major problems was advertising and getting the word out. Many people when asked about the store (in the general area where a store was located), had no idea of what the store was or the concept. It appears that since many of the stores were not in the general geographic location of another, a sweeping promotion via TV or newspaper would prove to be too costly. This was mostly the biggest problem with the Westbury, NY store which did no advertising until the Elizabeth, NJ store opened.
The Fry's stores in Fishers, Indiana; Tempe, Arizona; Wilsonville, Oregon; Sacramento and San Diego, California; and Dallas and Arlington, Texas are former Incredible Universe stores.
A few former employees from the Westbury, NY store have just launched the beginnings of a reunion website. If you worked at any of the Incredible Universe stores, they want to hear from you. Visit the site at: Incredible Universe Reunion
