Canada’s Future Shop consolidating under Best Buy banner; 66 stores to close

Burnaby, Canada -- Canada’s Future Shop will soon be a thing of the past. Best Buy announced it is consolidating its Future Shop division, and the chain’s namesake stores and Future Shop stores will all operate under the Best Buy nameplate. As part of the consolidation, 66 Future Shop stores will be closed, effective March 30. Also, 65 Future Shop locations will be shuttered for one week to transition to Best Buy.



The consolidation will leave Best Buy with 192 stores in Canada, including 136 large-format stores and 56 Best Buy Mobile stores. The U.S. retailer acquired Future Shop in 2001 and ran the electronics stores in their original format, even as new Best Buy stores set up shop nearby. The company on Saturday said that arrangement no longer makes sense and would shutter the Future Shop stores that are located close to Best Buy stores.



“Currently, 80% 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.”



Moving forward, Best Buy plans to invest up to $200 million in capital spending in Canada during the next two years to grow its multichannel capabilities, including expanding in-store pick-up areas for online customers, launching a ship-from-store program, and increasing staffing levels.



In addition, the company expects to record restructuring charges and non-restructuring impairments in the range of $200 million to $280 million. This includes $140 million to $180 million of cash charges, primarily related to future rent obligations and severance, that will be paid during the next five years.



In addition, Best Buy expects a negative impact of 10 cents to 20 cents on earnings per share in fiscal 2016. 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.