History
Initially, two Incredible Universe stores were opened in Arlington, Texas, and Wilsonville, Oregon. The stores pulled in large crowds, and once they proved profitable, Tandy decided to expand quickly, opening an additional 15 stores through 1996. In the mid-1990s, Incredible Universe was a sponsor of the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Sidekicks, Dallas Stars, Sacramento Kings, and Texas Rangers professional sports franchises. During this time, however, with the growth of other retail outlets such as Best Buy, the market became more competitive, and the expense of operating such large facilities resulted in an overall lack of profitability for the entire enterprise.
Ultimately, the company was forced to close or sell all 17 of its locations between 1996 and 1997. Only six were ever consistently profitable; these six stores (Arlington, Dallas, Tempe,[4] Wilsonville, Sacramento, San Diego) were sold to California company Fry's Electronics in 1996,[5] which itself ceased operations in 2021.[6]
The closed buildings were so large that 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. In 1996, the Incredible Universe stores lost $90 million, and on December 30, 1996, Tandy announced the store closures. Tandy officials stated, "some [of the] stores were profitable, but overall the stores weren't viable."[7] One of the former Incredible Universe sites, located in Houston, was acquired and redeveloped by Houston Community College, eventually becoming the school's West Loop campus. Another, in Woodbridge, Virginia, became a manufacturing plant for General Dynamics' line of amphibious war fighting vehicles from 2002 to 2012.[8] It was later adapted to Gander Mtn. and Floor & Decor stores. The Gander Mountain location closed in 2017 and was replaced with a community crisis center in 2025. The Westbury, Long Island store was converted into a Target and no longer has the 'signature' look (bowed front) of an Incredible Universe. The Sandy, Utah store was converted to a Costco warehouse. The Auburn, Washington location, situated on the north side of the Supermall of the Great Northwest, was converted to a Sam's Club
