BURNABY, BC—Best Buy Canada, a subsidiary of Best Buy Co, Inc, which owns and operates both Best Buy and Future Shop stores, is consolidating the Future Shop and Best Buy stores and websites under the Best Buy brand and changing the way customers online shop.
Best Buy Canada has also closed 66 Future Shop locations deemed too close to Best Buy stores. Concurrently, an additional 65 Future Shop stores will be temporarily closed for one week as they begin their transition to the Best Buy brand. The company will now have a total of 192 locations across Canada, including 136 large-format stores and 56 Best Buy Mobile stores.
“Currently, 80 percent of our customers are within a 15 minute drive to a store and this won’t change,” said Ron Wilson, president and COO of Best Buy Canada. “We will continue to have a strong store presence in all major markets in Canada.”
As a result of this consolidation, approximately 500 full-time and 1,000 part-time positions will be eliminated. The affected employees will receive severance, employee assistance and outplacement support.
Looking ahead, investments of up to $200 million dollars will be made in Best Buy stores and BestBuy.ca, to build a multi-channel customer experience. The company will include major home appliances in all stores; increased staffing levels; and plans to invest in the online shopping experience, for example by expanding in-store pick-up areas for online customers and launching a ship-from-store program, making in-store inventory available to online customers across the country.
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