Future Shop stores closed across Canada, some to become Best Buy

[bcneil]

Extended warranties are a huge scam. Almost any electronic failure will occur during the manufacturer's warranty period so Best Buy doesn't pay anything.

A store manager told me they could sell everything at cost because they make all their money on the warranty.

And speaking of talking math to a goldfish....wanted to look at a tablet at Best Buy once and the stupid kid wouldn't take it out of the display case until I paid for it. Fuck that, not going to happen.

I remember one time I was with a female friend helping her pick a tv.

The salesman comes over to bother us. So I ask him the differences between 2 tvs my friend liked.
Asking them questions is usually good for a chuckle.
He said "This one is $999. That one is $1199"

I just stared at him for about 20 seconds and announced we're leaving.

 

[1nitestan]

Future shop and best buy are the least 2 pleasant places I can think of to shop at. Maybe used car dealers are worse.
They push their silly extended warrantees so hard, I would just leave and make the purchase online, they even ship free.
The worst is when you tell them you aren't interested in the warrantee, and they talk down to you like you're an idiot.
As an actuary I explain to them why their warrantees are crap, I feel like I am explaining math to a goldfish.

One of my first jobs out of school was computer sales at Future shop (mid 80's) OMG what a boiler room it was when it came to high pressure sales techniques. Steering people away from superior products so I could get more perks selling crap. Pushing extended warranty. All the slimy techniques you could think of were taught to new sales staff.

 

[vancity_cowboy]

I hope you realize that best buy price matches amazon Canada...

london drugs doesn't advertise it, but they will match any online or instore price in canada - you just gotta challenge them on it and know your stuff

 

[prairie_boy]

Future Shop was one of the worst ever retail experiences, bar none, so good riddance.

Costco gets most of my retail electronics dollars these days due to excellent service and return policies. Assuming they actually carry what I am looking for, I rarely buy it anywhere else.

I have to agree, London Drugs can be quite good! Especially the locations that specialize in home theatre, speakers, etc. which some of them do.

Credit where credit is due.

 

[Plude]

Won't miss them much except browsing around. One thing buying online can't match

 

[Cock Throppled]

Nothing wrong with self-competition if it corners market share.

That is no longer a great strategy with on-line markets for electronics.

 

[westwoody]

Sports experts was owned and run by the Forzani group

Did you mean Sport Chek? Now part of the Canadian Tire empire.

Someday CanTire will merge with Loblaw and there will only be two stores in every town in Canada: Canadian Tire and WalMart.

 

[sexmaniac]

Interesting observations here. I agree one of biggest problems is shrinking middle class. We are overtaxed here and everyone knows how expensive it is just to meet our basic needs these days of housing, food, etc. We are largely funding our economy with credit card debt which is unsustainable and rising interest rates would tighten spending even more. These big chains think more is better but as others have mentioned online shopping is often cheaper and more convenient with better customer service.

 

[escapefromstress]

Did you mean Sport Chek? Now part of the Canadian Tire empire.

Someday CanTire will merge with Loblaw and there will only be two stores in every town in Canada: Canadian Tire and WalMart.

The 10 Corporations That Control Almost Everything You Buy

This is a couple years old already and there's been big mergers since this was published.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-24/10-corporations-control-almost-everything-you-buy

 

[Thelyhi]

I've only been to Future Shop once for the boxing day sale. It's a Big Canadian Tire that's inbetween them.The games and new DVD / Blu-ray packaging is Abit different for each franchise including Walmart and Superstore. I found F's about $3-4 more but willing to help for the service.
Best Buy was terrible on Boxing.Day for games...Your in a maze and walk like a slow zombie and can't break away from queue. Look,pick and walk.Another timeout was 2 cashier at Bb one was busy with returns and the other did sales,some 12+ people were getting agitated including myself. Another cashier opened, but only did cc. I had cash only.For Fucks sake waited like 26 mins to buy 2 movies.Never set foot there ever again.

 

[rick hunter]

The 10 Corporations That Control Almost Everything You Buy

This is a couple years old already and there's been big mergers since this was published.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-24/10-corporations-control-almost-everything-you-buy

Kraft and Heinz are going to merge. http://www.post-gazette.com/busines...lenges-for-iconic-brands/stories/201503270242

 

[westwoody]

I hardly buy anything anymore, I'm older and have accumulated pretty much all I want.

Sure I buy food and some gas but that's about it except for pooning. Not much of a consumer anymore.

 

[87112]

I only like to buy my electronics at Best Buy. The convenience of returning a defective product or an exchange is completely worth it to me. They match Amazon , Newegg, and a bunch of others. All I have to pay extra is the sales tax and I consider that OK since it not a real hassle to exchange stuff.
I like to support brick and mortar stores cause just think if they are all gone how depressing the malls would be and the people in my community need jobs. With the price match feature I have nothing to lose.

 

[summerbreeze]

Future Shop closing is a product of Amazon getting far more competitive in Canada. In country distribution with their prime delivery option. (pay one fee per year and all 2 day shipping is free)

It makes smaller purchases economical i.e. buying something worth $10 online was cost prohibitive because the shipping was $8 for example.

Took Amazon several years to get their act together in Canada but now they will be a tough competitor to bricks and mortar stores. Especially the ones who don't have enough "walk in" shopping type products.

 

[P_e_r_b]

Sure Online sales are a threat to bricks'n'mortar, but no one was stopping Best Shop or Future Buy from being competitive in that space. The consumer electronics sector has been stagnating, but mobile electronics is growing. When you've had to chop your organization by 25% over the past two years, it's more than just reacting to the retail climate, it's an indication of mis-management issues. Reducing floor space was inevitable, but their sales figures still suck. Personally, the lack of an expected staff cut announcement at the beginning of February was an indication of some bigger cost cutting coming up. This was it.

Audio and Video? There's Wally-world, Costcult and London Duds to name a few places. Appliances? Canadian Retire. I still get my computing hardware from local small retailers. Their prices are competitive with online vendors since margins are thin for everyone. They don't try to sell me extended warranties either. Target left Canada with their tails between their legs, but let's not forget that Best Bye (not the Canadian sub, but the parent corp.) did the same retreat from Great Britain just a couple of years ago.

Maybe they should get that Translimp CEO to consult for them...

 

[summerbreeze]

I hardly buy anything anymore, I'm older and have accumulated pretty much all I want.

Sure I buy food and some gas but that's about it except for pooning. Not much of a consumer anymore.

Yes, boomers are past their peak spending years. Its another factor effecting the economy in the western countries.


Best Buy have been very aggressive with their online fulfillment capability to boost their internet business. Their online sales of a few categories are now more margin than their store inventory product sales in several jurisdictions.

Would not say the letting FS go was caused by bad management as much as it was adjusting to the shifting competitive pressures. Second factor is that they would likely shut down FS and focus on their main retail brand Best Buy than shut down locations of both chains.

Too bad, the FS folks worked hard over the years to build that store brand in Canada. Lot of jobs lost.

 

[ddcanz]

Future shop is garbage. Same with best buy. Thanks to Amazon Canada I haven't had to visit the incompetent shop for years.

BB, like all brick and mortar stores, carries overhead costs that Amazon and strictly online suppliers do not. At BB you can review, sample, test drive etc. all their products, then they will price match Amazon or anyone else to boot, ensuring the best possible price. Why wouldn't you shop there, unless you know the product so well that no hand's-on research is required?

 

[ddcanz]

london drugs doesn't advertise it, but they will match any online or instore price in canada - you just gotta challenge them on it and know your stuff

Absolutely. Made a significant purchase at LD this weekend and had them match a ridiculous online price.
Like vv_c says, do your research and know your stuff.

 

[ddcanz]

Future Shop was one of the worst ever retail experiences, bar none, so good riddance.

Costco gets most of my retail electronics dollars these days due to excellent service and return policies. Assuming they actually carry what I am looking for, I rarely buy it anywhere else.

I have to agree, London Drugs can be quite good! Especially the locations that specialize in home theatre, speakers, etc. which some of them do.

Credit where credit is due.

Costco is OK but the selection is weak. You also have to be careful with their pricing and do your research. They carry a lot of older outdated products so you have to compare apples to apples.
I recently was shopping for a sound base for my TV and looked at the Bose Solo 10 at Costco for $399. The Solo 10 is an older, smaller product. The Solo 15- larger, better sound, works with bigger TVs etc. was on at BB for $449- pretty much the best price in Canada, and better than BB in Bellingham, which wanted $449 US for it. Now, I ended up buying a different product altogether as I found the Bose to be inferior in other ways, but just noting this as an example.
London Drugs is a great experience, with superb price matching on ANYTHING advertised else where.
Online to me is a last resort for products I can't find locally or in my travels. I've found that usually with any small amount of negotiation that prices get matched.

 

[P_e_r_b]

Yes, boomers are past their peak spending years. Its another factor effecting the economy in the western countries.

The spending power of the boomers is palpable. That is for sure. What we see is a widening gap in products being offered too. There's higher end, and more expensive items for the more affluent boomers, and more economic choices for the Millennial crowd. Auto manufacturers have embraced that, and I am saving my nickels for the latest Bentley...

Best Buy have been very aggressive with their online fulfillment capability to boost their internet business. Their online sales of a few categories are now more margin than their store inventory product sales in several jurisdictions.

I'm sure they have. As Yoda says, "Do, or do not. There is no try."

Would not say the letting FS go was caused by bad management as much as it was adjusting to the shifting competitive pressures. Second factor is that they would likely shut down FS and focus on their main retail brand Best Buy than shut down locations of both chains.

On this I have to respectfully disagree. Dropping the FShop banner was not "caused" by mis-management, it was a reaction to the situation. Of course it is an adjustment in regards to the shifting competitive pressures, but that sort of obfuscates the reality of how the competition has been winning. If your competitor has been taking market share (when you drop your outlet count by 25% in two years there has to be component of that happening when the market demand has not dropped nearly as much), then you are losing. That's the bottom line.

When a company grows, people on top love to take credit even if the growth is just reflective of the demand growth. When it falls, the focus becomes everything but the guys (or gals) at the helm (at least that's what they will tell you). Canadian Tire didn't stay in Automotive products and services. They evolved with the market. So has places like Superstore. Blockbuster didn't... and where are they now?

The second factor doesn't mitigate the cause, it only describes a course of action. In the end Corporation "A" owns and operates Chain "X" and Chain "Y". The shareholders and the bank look at the bottom line of Corporation "A". How a company achieves a reduction in costs OPEX/CAPEX to stay solvent does not explain away how they got into the predicament in the first place.

Too bad, the FS folks worked hard over the years to build that store brand in Canada. Lot of jobs lost.

Yes. It's always a drag to see hard workers pay the price. Hopefully their skills are transferable to another market. As bad as it seems, this is still conservative Canada, so we do try to take care of each other.