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Best Buy Kills Off Future Shop
Lirodon writes: Future Shop, a Canadian electronics chain that was bought by Best Buy in 2001, but continued to operate in parallel with the newly-opened Canadian locations of the U.S. retailer, is no more. Today, the company abruptly announced the closure of the Future Shop chain, and the permanent closure of 66 of its remaining 131 locations. The remaining 65 Future Shop locations (specifically, those that weren't within driving, or even walking distance of a Best Buy to begin with) will be converted to Best Buy stores over the next few days.
This is just the latest step in Best Buy's efforts to downsize its Canadian operations and focus on online retail. The new, downsized chain will consist of 136 Best Buy stores (and 56 of the small Best Buy Mobile stores) in Canada. Still, it's sad to see such an iconic brand killed off like this.
This is just the latest step in Best Buy's efforts to downsize its Canadian operations and focus on online retail. The new, downsized chain will consist of 136 Best Buy stores (and 56 of the small Best Buy Mobile stores) in Canada. Still, it's sad to see such an iconic brand killed off like this.
People still shop there?
Where I live, the Best Buy was within sight of the Future Shop across the street. It's amazing the two stores stayed open as long as they did (several years). The real disappointment is that I found the Best Buy prices to be consistently a little higher than Future Shop's, but because both of them have higher prices than some of the specialized local retailers and online ... meh.
It was pretty surprising how suddenly they closed. They were open Friday and closed Saturday with no obvious notice beforehand. Today there are signs up and opaque paper on the windows.
When will the madness end!? Is tech going away as we speak??
I used to work doing computer repairs at a Future Shop. There's was a Best Buy of the same size in the same mall. It was really weird to go deliver or pickup RMA parts from each others computer services department when the courier would get confused.
How is this not the abuse of monopolistic advantage to shut out and shut down competition?
Can they really complete in the online space?
Who here has ever gone to bestbuy.com in lieu of newegg or Amazon? I don't think going to bestbuy.com has ever even entered my thought stream, ever. They certainly won't offer lower prices than their brick-and-mortar stores, so as not to complete with them - which makes me wonder why companies like this even bother?
This is really RadioShack part II.
"stealing business?"
Really?
I want to buy certain items locally - like the Roccat Ryos MK Pro with blue switches, the ROG Swift monitor, and stuff like that. Best Buy doesn't stock them and I've got Amazon Prime, so why would I order from Worst Buy and wait 3-5 days for an item when I can get it next day for $3.99 shipping? (as far as why Best Buy doesn't stock the ROG Swift when they are among a very small handful of authorized retailers for that model, I have no idea.) I could drive 70 miles to Micro Center down in MA, but then I'd also have to pay sales tax. So, when I buy that monitor, I'm going to get it from Amazon.
Amazon sells MANY things brick-and-mortars don't any more. Want to find a good precision screwdriver set? I can't find a good set at Sears any more, nor Home Depot, nor Lowes, or smaller hardware stores, nor at Best Buy, or even harbor Freight. Sooo, where do I turn? Amazon.
Ass Kickin' ghost pepper hot sauce - I cannot find it anywhere local. So, where do I order that from? Amazon. Amazon stocks darn near everything you can imagine.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Anyone see the latest episodes of vice?
Looks like they are nothing more than CIA puff pieces now that they are owned by their masters
Sears cutting back locations, The Bay selling Zeller's to be Target and that ended and now Futureshop. No, really, it is going pretty well with the Canadian economy.
Let's all say "Thank you Harper!"
The Canadian middle class is being crushed out of existence. NAFTA has played a big role in this, as it resulted in much manufacturing draining directly to Mexico. Subsequent trade agreements have not helped. At the same time, there has been a huge flood of immigrants, most of them from third-world nations. The lack of work, combined with a large population increase, has resulted in higher levels of unemployment, along with higher housing prices.
Middle-class stores, including large and long-established chains, are closing throughout Canada at an astounding pace. Zellers is gone. Target never really got off the ground. Sears is on its way out. Many of the mid-sided clothing stores have gone under lately, are in the process of going under, or are just about to.
The middle-class retailers that have survived so far have often done so only by dropping their quality levels, or moving into higher-end goods. There is a stunning degree of economic polarization: either you are quite wealthy, or you are very poor. This is a huge change from what the country was once like, when it had a robust middle class. Most middle-class Canadians have been, or are being, forced down to a Wal-Mart level of existence.
I'll spare everyone the lengthy explanation (this story spans over three months) but multiple employees of that chain chose to participate in a series of events involving a $400 printer so unbelievable as a result they have not received a subsequent cent of the upper-five (likely six) figures of my disposable income I've spent on electronics/appliances in last 18 yrs. I had to take my son there recently to use a gift card he'd received & remember strolling through the magnolia section looking at curved 4k displays, mcintosh tube amps, b&w speakers, etc & thinking: "yeah, I could impulse buy any of this stuff at this point in my life but the day they are the last electronics retailer on earth will be the day I do a full 1040 w/all supporting schedules on an abacus!"
I suspect I'm not alone...
The real surprise is why it took so long? 14 years is a heck of a long time to be running large redundant stores. From the parking lot of my local Future Shop, you could literally see the Best Buy store, and neither store was ever busy enough to really justify having two so close together, and I've heard that some were so close as to share a parking lot. It might be different if there were significant differences in the product lines they carried, but as it is it never really made much sense.
Log in or piss off.
Buying from a large surface is not the answer to a good local economy ,thriving local businesses and good service. .. who do you turn to ? Got to ship the set to lord knows where at a high cost , plus pay repair plus the time you haven't a set ( Dealer used to lend you one btw ) and generally end up just adding the device to the garbage pile. .. Spend a dollar more and help everyone including yourself .
Let's take a look at the TV situation. The same principles applies to any product.
We used to have a local television dealer. Man of experience and that knew his stuff. He sold and repaired the tv sets on premises.
The shop had a few good technicians , home service , delivery pickup the whole lot. He was the tv dealer and normally had a good selection of sets.
Dealerships meant something. It meant you could count on him when the TV has an issue and he was honoring the warranty. A guy with an RCA or Zenith dealership sign meant he was good at what he does. Came the large surfaces , selling a few dollars left , People forgot that the dealer meant a place to have it serviced , good friendly advice and a place to turn to when the going was rough. Yes you paid a few dollars more.but the tech wes there , service was there at your door. That is value. Now you buy a tv in a big surface , on line
Saving a dollar is not always a good idea. That's what got us in a mess , got our local economies in a mess , makes us loose local jobs etc etc .
Next time you're at wal mart think of the local shops that give you good service , that's giving jobs to the neighbors that been there for decades with sole purpose of making you a happy customer
Ric
My wife and I bought our first television (way back in the pre-HD, pre-flatscreen days) from our local Future Shop - back when they were still in the U.S. Big 27" screen... darn thing weighed close to 100 pounds. Even when I was young, that thing was a bear to move single handed.
Wait - why are memories of that horrible old beast of a television making me feel nostalgic?
#DeleteChrome
Futureshop and BestBuy were literally on the same street, less than half a klick from eachother in my town. I never went to BestBuy because the one time I was there, the dumb blonde behind the counter berated me for buying the kind of keyboard I wanted.
Anyways, since Futureshop is closed now, I went to WorstBuy to see if I could get a 7200 rpm 2.5" HD, or an SSD of any kind. No SSD's anywhere, only 2 2.5" HD's, both 5400rpm. Crap... Then I passed by the cables because I needed a couple short ethernet cables. $25 for a 4' ethernet cable? Are you fucking shitting me? And these guys are complaining they're losing business.
Maybe if you fuckheads had shit people actually wanted to buy, at reasonable prices, they would buy it.
because politicians are bought and allow themselves to be bought.
BIG GOVERNMENT is the problem. If politicians did not have the power to make things happen, then they would not be bought.
I kind of liked Futureshop. They usually had what I wanted and the service wasn't too bad. Kind of fun wandering around when you're bored too.
A great band (The Sycamores of Halifax), which broke up years ago, even wrote a song about having nothing to do and going to Futureshop. Since The Sycamores are basically forgotten by the internet, here's the song, 'Future Shop Monday':
http://picosong.com/V2r8/
http://picosong.com/download/V2r8/
At Northland Mall in Calgary, BestBuy opened up a store right before the Future Shop purchase. They weren't moving into new space, they actually built an extension to the mall just for the store. It was literally across the hall from a Future Shop. So I thought, great! Comparison shopping will never be easier.
Right around the store opening, BestBuy bought Future Shop. Despite having completely identical prices, and being all of twenty feet from each other, and being the *same company*, they operated both locations for the next fifteen years.
The only reason I can imagine that makes any kind of sense for doing this would be to deny some competitor access to the retail space.
With management like that, the only surprise is that it has taken so long for more of Future Shop to get the axe.
I closed my Future Shop credit card account after paying off my one and only purchase I used it for 20 years ago. Those arseholes still show up on my credit report.
Future Shop salespeople were pushy.
Best Buy had overpriced outdated items that could be bought far cheaper online.
Interesting how some big US retail is pulling out of Canada?
" Is Canada even a country?"
Are you highlighting the poor quality education you received in your country?
I'm not sad that Future Shop is finally being killed off. They were already dead once Best Buy purchased them. Best Buy and Future Shop stores were virtually identical.
I remember shopping at the original future shop to buy 5.25" Floppies and dealing with the pushy salespeople were not a good memory. Sure it was one of the few Canadian tech store brands, but definitely I'm not shedding any tears now that it's finally completely dead.
RIP Future Shop
Future Shop salespeople were pushy.
Best Buy had overpriced outdated items that could be bought far cheaper online.
Not only pushy, but squarely dishonest and crooked. Tried to sell me a customer return LCD as a "Brand new opened box" ,except with a return tag on it.
We also used to call them "Future stock" because whenever something was advertised, they never had any.
Good riddance Indeed.
I could never stand Best Buy...just personal experience but their customer service and sales environment was crap. FutureShop always gave me more positive vibes, and most of the time their sales reps were a lot friendlier. Granted, I tended to buy more from Staples anyway, but still sad to see Future Shop go...
In the Canadian marketplace The Futureshop was one of the worst players. They went out of their way to destroy other businesses and companies, as could be told by the amount of lawsuits they had filed against them over the years. They had questionable ethics but for a time they were winners of the marketplace.
But the marketplace changes. when they were bought by Best Buy they created this stupid illusion of competition by opening a Best Buy directly opposite a Futureshop. Futureshop had the better price, but Best Buy actually had the stock. We all saw through this pathetic attempt and over time just stop trusting them. Best Buy retracted last year, they're killing the name off this year which still boils down to slimming down the stores and retracting the business again.
Overall a marketplace that has spoken, and dumping a crappy company. How much longer before we watch the liquidators come in and clear out the morally and financially bankrupt Best Buy.
Take a look at the bigger picture with the canadian economy. We never really had the same sort of crash as the americans in 2008. The middle and upper classes were insulated by artificially low interest rates and the encouragement to start flipping more and more property. Harper and his cronies dropped interest rates so low, and screwed with the housing market so much that the entire economy is now built on debt, subprime mortgages and oil.Oil is down for the count, people simply cannot take out more mortgages, and debt is at an all time high.
It is not a surprise to me that people have run out of debt now (despite a thoroughly panicked boc dropping interest rates AGAIN on the 15th of april or so I hear...). The dollar is tanking too if you haven't noticed, which really sucks for buying things from america. The american economy recovered, our depression was glossed over and hidden by the conservatives over the last 7 years with the stupid policy of low interest rates. Now they are desperately trying to bribe people before the election and are praying that the shit does not hit the fan before that.
The conservative government is all smoke and mirrors while they are here, and when they get kicked out, it will be someone elses mess to fix.
Futureshop and bestbuy are the same store and have been since 2001. The greatest trick they pulled in this country was convincing canadians that they had the ability to comparison shop for electronics by visiting just those two stores. They had a good racket going, but now the internet has come so far as to be the real competition. So yes the company is doing the right thing by consolidating brands, but harper has also messed up the economy so much, that people simply don't have any more money to spend. The retail sector feels that first, so they are the ones having to reorganize to stay afloat.
The canadian landscape is littered with large department store chains that have folded. I am old enough to remember shopping at towers, which was sold to zellers at exactly the same time as the last major housing correction. Funny how consumer spending and housing affordability is inter-related isn't it?
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... 14 years old in Boise, ID. Tried to get a job as a tech salesman but apparently I was too young and they thought people wouldn't trust my knowledge. Pretty sure I knew more about PCs at the time than the folks that would have managed me.
Now I make six figures at a job I don't set an alarm clock for because I show up when I want. Suck it, Future Shop. :)
Why do we allow these mergers in the first place? Oh yeah profit.
The only thing Iconic about Future Shop is that it charged 200% to much, had horrible tech service and completely unqualified and untrained works who couldn't even pass a simple IT / Tech Test. I had an interview years ago at Future Shop for a tech position and at that time, I held more certificates then the "Manager", who claimed your A+ ( which is a joke ), was qualification, this was in high school.
...those that weren't within driving, or even walking distance...
Strange phrasing.
Signed,
- AC
PS - I assume you won't take offense based on the claim in your sig that you ignore AC posts. Personally, I abhor that practice as I see it contributing to a wider attempt to invalidate the right to anonymity, but different strokes for different folks, I guess.
I worked for a company called A&B Sound in Victoria, B.C. We competed against future shop in the electronics department. Future shop's components were either sub-grade and "cheap", or had highly inflated prices. Customer service was also really horrid. In comparison Best Buy has inflated prices (often), but at least they don't sell crap. One thing in general is that Canadian stores tend to gauge their customers far more than US. It might be a demand/supply problem. Canadians should wake up and order more things online in the US or internationally.
It comes down to Best Buy Execs wanting more money elsewhere than in the Sales Reps pockets.
Future Shop was a commissioned sales environment (good or bad, it's irrelevant to the point I'm making about money allocation).
Best Buy was pretty much minimum wage for all Sales staff.
By converting all Future Shops to Best Buys, they can circumnavigate and red tape and expensive payouts that would have needed to take place otherwise.
If they're not careful, they'll catch up to the scales of evil Comcast and Walmart have sunken to! http://gizmodo.com/babmost-hat...
Canadians might not say it or act like it, but they are quite nationalistic when it comes to brands and companies. What I've seen is that american brands have had trouble penetrating that market because preference goes to the incumbent local company. Target is struggling to gain acceptance, Canadian Tire is still the go-to, and even major e-tailers like Newegg have trouble over the other Canadian e-tailers. Hell, Sears seems to have won mindshare by having a little maple leaf in their Canadian logo. They may not like to hear it, but Canadians are just like Americans in that regard. A lot of people I've talked to buy Apple precisely because they see it as an American brand.
Unless you mean iconic in how they try to make the cheap TVs purposely look bad to sell the expensive ones, and then tack on a $7 HDMI cable that somehow rings up as $89.