Incredible Universe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Company type | Consumer electronics, home appliances, personal computers and accessories |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992[1] |
| Defunct | March 31, 1997 |
| Fate | 6 stores sold to Fry's Electronics, and one more acquired later from a third party owner Wal-Mart Stores or Target Corporation |
| Headquarters | Arlington, Texas |
| Parent | Tandy Corporation |
Incredible Universe was a chain of American consumer electronics stores from 1992 to 1997. A typical Incredible Universe store was 185,000 square feet (17,200 m2) of sales floor and warehouse, stocking around 85,000 items.[2]
The operation was conceived by former Tandy CEO John V. Roach. Many internal corporate philosophies of Disney theme parks were borrowed; in an Incredible Universe store, retail departments were "scenes", employees were "cast members", customers were "guests", uniforms were "costumes", and so forth.[3] The company was a joint venture between Tandy Corporation and Trans World Entertainment.
By 1990, growth of Tandy Corporation's Radio Shack chain of electronics stores and Tandy personal computers had stalled. Incredible Universe was created with the intention of competing with rapidly growing electronics superstores like Circuit City, Best Buy, and CompUSA that were taking market share from Radio Shack. The company hoped that customers would drive up to 40 miles to a store, allowing one location to serve an area with as few as one million people, with two or three locations for large cities. The company calculated that annual sales of $45 million would allow each store to break even, and with sales of $65 million they could be as profitable as rivals, if not more so. Sell-side analysts estimated that 60 Incredible Universe stores could generate $4 billion in annual revenue, far more than Radio Shack's $2.8 billion in fiscal year 1992.[3]
Unlike Radio Shack — relatively small, with high profit margins but slow inventory turnover — Incredible Universe stores emphasized low prices, low margins, and high volume.[3] They featured a large rotunda area with a stage where sales presentations, product demonstrations, autograph signings, and even occasional musical acts were performed. Various retail departments (software, music and video, and accessories) were accessible from this rotunda; moving through the rotunda area would lead a customer to the main storefront where larger consumer electronics and computers were sold.
A store would also generally contain four to eight "sound rooms" where particular combinations of audio/video equipment could be demonstrated. Some stores contained McDonald's restaurants (the Wilsonville, Oregon store contained a Pizza Hut) and temporary day care facilities where parents could leave their small children while they shopped. Initially believed as a means to generate more business, inclusion of restaurants in the general shopping area had the unforeseen side effect of lowered revenue due to poor loss prevention strategies; improved loss prevention strategies practiced by Walmart and Best Buy can be noticed due to where they have placed the restaurants contained within their stores.
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 demonstrating new products from vendors to the staff, as well as public training on computers, software, and audio/video gear that was for purchase. Rounding out the computer department was a computer upgrade center which could add new memory, a sound card, or a modem to a computer in just a few minutes.
