Future Shop closing all of their stores in Canada.

A lot of them are changing to best buy. All sales associates are being laid off, but ops and merch team have option to stay or take buyout.

Source: I work there. Just got out of the meeting

Extra bonus, I work/ed at Target too, so yay me! Meh.
 
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Wow. Makes sense to do it, the fake competition was really pointless. I just hope they aren't going to screw over all their staff.

Edit: I wonder what's going to happen with leftover preorder steelcases. I know a lot of FS's had a bunch kicking around.

 
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good thing i stocked up on those steelbooks!  Honestly I hope they get rid of those. They were a pain and we could never get rid of them fast enough. Always clogging up the shelves and backroom.

 
This is a great way for their parent company to flake out on all those extended waranties they've been pushing on us all these years.

 
i'm pretty sure the warranties will be covered by best buy. They just want to screw employees, not their customer base.  lol

We were wondering about all those games we had pre-ordered from the e3 deals. We are hoping they will switch to BB, but they probably won't   :(

 
If you check the FS website, it's up now and lets you check your existing orders. So I'm sure they'll honor all those deals they've had.

 
I bought an item from futureshop.ca and I can no longer access the website, are you going to fulfill the order?

  • Yes, all outstanding orders placed on futureshop.ca will be fulfilled.

That's good.

I'm wondering what happens to all the Future Shop stores now. Some are super close to a Best Buy; are they becoming Best Buy stores as well?

 
A lot of them are changing to best buy. All sales associates are being laid off, but ops and merch team have option to stay or take buyout.

Source: I work there. Just got out of the meeting

Extra bonus, I work/ed at Target too, so yay me! Meh.
You worked at Target and Future Shop? You're like the ebola of retail employment.

But seriously, sorry to hear that. The Canadian/North American retail scene has been getting... interesting recently.

 
Not surprised at all. In Longueil, QC, we had a Best Buy and FS right beside each other. About a year ago the Best Buy packed up and left. Ever since then, the FS has been barren, and now for a few months the place has had fewer and fewer staff, a lot of their items are not being restocked and the checkout area was closed down. Now all purchases are made at customer service.

Not sad to see them go since FS has always been pretty bad, but I just wish the current FS will be replaced by a Best Buy. Nearest Best Buy is an hour away...

Will they have clearance sales or just not even bother?

 
Not sad to see them go since FS has always been pretty bad, but I just wish the current FS will be replaced by a Best Buy. Nearest Best Buy is an hour away...

Will they have clearance sales or just not even bother?
If there's no nearby BB it should flip, they're just closing up the redundant stores.

I wouldn't think any clearance sales would happen. Except maybe on the stuff that BB doesn't carry, like large appliances and car stereos.

 
I'm not surprised by this one bit... FS has continued to go down a painful path for many years. It almost seemed like they were trying to become a higher priced Target/Walmart, etc.

I'm not sure if any of you took part in their surveys, asking about things like: "If FS were to start selling the following products, would you buy them?" Things like kids toys and home care products, lawnmowers, baby stuff, whatever they had on the list that wasn't their niche. Then they started to expand more and more with pots and pans, car seats, etc.

It was clear this company had lost its identity and having BB and FS was pointless. Where I'm from, there is a BB within 5 minutes of most FS... Why take so long to do this...

 
yeah similar situation here;

they opened a best buy literally right beside FS.. few years later; closed it

now not even a few years out, and we're switching that FS to bestbuy now

lmao

..man they spend money about as wise as government eh?

 
They kept saying that Canadians identified more with the Futureshop name, since it was a Canadian company, so I think they just wanted to keep that name for as long as possible and then do the switch. They are trying to become more of a web sales based company, since there really is little competition in Canada for that.  Especially since Amazon Canada just plain sucks. (why does it suck so much when Amazon US is so good?)

Anyway, the sales guys in our FS actually did have item specific training for the departments they worked in, so a lot of them did know about what they sold, even if they did throw a lot of BS in.  Now that they are gone, those of us left working know very little about any of the products there.

 
They kept saying that Canadians identified more with the Futureshop name, since it was a Canadian company, so I think they just wanted to keep that name for as long as possible and then do the switch. They are trying to become more of a web sales based company, since there really is little competition in Canada for that. Especially since Amazon Canada just plain sucks. (why does it suck so much when Amazon US is so good?)
How does Amazon.ca suck ? Might just be me, but I've never had nothing but irreproachable service from Amazon.ca, as opposed to Best Buy who keeps shipping me stuff days after the release date, overcharges me for product and can't help me retrieve my orders detail on their website, after "7 E-MAILS AND 11 PHONE CALLS" to technical support !!!

But then again, different customers have different experiences all the time.

 
How does Amazon.ca suck ? Might just be me, but I've never had nothing but irreproachable service from Amazon.ca, as opposed to Best Buy who keeps shipping me stuff days after the release date, overcharges me for product and can't help me retrieve my orders detail on their website, after "7 E-MAILS AND 11 PHONE CALLS" to technical support !!!

But then again, different customers have different experiences all the time.
check out amazon.com, and you'll realize why .CA sucks ;)

.com has some amazing deals, .ca i can get most anything cheaper elsewhere.

 
Well, this kinda sucks.  I haven't been to a FS in some time, but I've gotten quite a few great deals.  Granted, most of my purchases there were PMs or clearance sales, but it's the thought that counts, right?  BB is cool, but their niche game selection and clearance deals just didn't compare.

 
I'm originally from the states, and having been used to amazon.com for quite a few years and then seeing what amazon.ca had to offer, i was really disappointed. A few years ago I ordered a book from amazon.com shipped to Canada, and it still came out cheaper with shipping than what amazon.ca was charging just for the book, without shipping costs. Amazon.ca has gotten a bit better in their selection of items, but the prices are just the same as anywhere else, not to mention they have pretty much no special sales for black friday/boxing day compared to the states.

 
I'm originally from the states, and having been used to amazon.com for quite a few years and then seeing what amazon.ca had to offer, i was really disappointed. A few years ago I ordered a book from amazon.com shipped to Canada, and it still came out cheaper with shipping than what amazon.ca was charging just for the book, without shipping costs. Amazon.ca has gotten a bit better in their selection of items, but the prices are just the same as anywhere else, not to mention they have pretty much no special sales for black friday/boxing day compared to the states.
True. It is usually cheaper for me to actually drive 1 hour to the US to pick up items then order from amazon.ca. That said, occasionally I do find something.

Wow. Makes sense to do it, the fake competition was really pointless. I just hope they aren't going to screw over all their staff.

Edit: I wonder what's going to happen with leftover preorder steelcases. I know a lot of FS's had a bunch kicking around.
Where am I going to get my Rocketfish branded items now? :)

The fake competition had gotten to a point that I simply stopped checking FutureShop for anything altogether. They carried the same product, usually at the same prices, and even accepted each others gift cards... seemed like it should have happened years ago.

That said, I will always have fond memories of buying my Adlib sound card from them many years ago. Of the joy of hearing Space Quest with real music for the first time...

 
Amazon.ca main issue is lack of selection, compared to expectations set by amazon.com
check out amazon.com, and you'll realize why .CA sucks ;)

.com has some amazing deals, .ca i can get most anything cheaper elsewhere.
I'm originally from the states, and having been used to amazon.com for quite a few years and then seeing what amazon.ca had to offer, i was really disappointed. A few years ago I ordered a book from amazon.com shipped to Canada, and it still came out cheaper with shipping than what amazon.ca was charging just for the book, without shipping costs. Amazon.ca has gotten a bit better in their selection of items, but the prices are just the same as anywhere else, not to mention they have pretty much no special sales for black friday/boxing day compared to the states.
I guess I didn't make myself clear, but then again maybe I didn't get the gist of your initial message.

I know that Amazon.com has better deals and a better selection than Amazon.ca, but I wasn't comparing the US to Canada, I was comparing Canadian retailers between them. The economic situation ain't the same over there, the population ain't the same, it's not a fair comparison in my opinion.

I was just saying that as far as Canadian retailers go, I think Amazon.ca is pretty decent compared to the rest.

 
Oh, It makes sense to close FS now. I didn't understand why a BB opened next to each FS I know few years ago. And when you're considering it's the same in the end.

I pretty much stopped going to FS when they didn't honor their own extended warranty years ago. good riddance.

 
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