There's one less consumer electronics star in Utah: Incredible Universe failed to find a buyer for its Sandy store.
Tandy Corp. confirmed Friday it is liquidating all merchandise and plans to shut down the store within two to three months. It is looking for a buyer for the building, which is about the size of three football fields, and property, said Fran McGehee, senior manager of media relations.The closure means most of the 200 people employed at the store will be looking for jobs. McGehee said some may be offered positions elsewhere in the company, but most will receive severance packages.
Tandy announced Dec. 30 plans to sell or close its 17 Incredible Universe stores. It said Fry Electronics planned to take over six of the stores, located in Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, Phoenix, Dallas and Arlington.
Tandy said it would seek buyers for the other Incredible Universe stores.
At the same time, Tandy announced plans to close 19 of its 108 Computer City stores and relocate two others. The Computer City store in Murray will remain open. Tandy also said in December it would close 53 McDuff stores in Texas and Southeastern states.
Tandy continues to operate 6,800 RadioShack stores.
Tandy officials said some Incredible Universe stores were profitable, but overall the stores weren't "viable." Incredible Universe sold everything from music CD-ROMs to blenders, computers, refrigerators and high-end home theaters.
McGehee couldn't say whether the Incredible Universe store in Sandy, located at 11100 Automall Drive, was one of its profitable operations.
According to analysts, the Incredible Universe stores lost $90 million in 1996. Tandy lost another $60 million on its Computer City chain.A store manager said in December the Sandy store was profitable and would remain open. McGehee said she had no idea when Tandy ended its search for a buyer for the Sandy store.
But a Sandy official said the city learned four weeks ago the store was closing.
"We had a sense through (sales) tax revenue we were receiving that things were not as high as we projected," said Rick Davis, Sandy spokesman. "But we didn't think it was in critical condition."
The Incredible Universe store is located on a high-profile property next to I-15, just south of the 10600 South exit.
"It is in a prime location, on a good piece of property," Davis said, which should make attracting another retailer easier.