Hundreds more Canadian workers were instantly unemployed this weekend after Future Shop, a nation-wide chain specializing in electronic equipment and appliances, announced it was closing all of its 131 stores.
Sixty-five the the stores will re-open under the Best Buy brand. Best Buy, which is based in the U.S., has operated both chains since acquiring British Columbia-based Future Shop in 2001.
Future Shop joins a growing list of electronics stores, and many other retailers, being forced to declare bankruptcy or to severely downsize because of online competition. Some of the others include Office Depot, Sears, Radio Shack, Staples and Target.
More and more people are finding fewer and fewer reasons to go into electronics shows. Research and reviews of products can be found on the Internet.
Moreover, bricks and mortar retailers have also been victimized by a phenomenon known as “showrooming.” The process sees customers go to the stores to examine goods and seek expert advice from staff and then go online to order their products from vendors with lower overhead costs.
Mandeep S. Malik is an assistant professor of marketing at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and director of the BizX program for Global Mobility and Synergy Program.
He currently sits on the Business Advisory Board for Mohawk College, was on the awards panel for CASSIES (Canada’s Advertising Awards) and was on the `Thought Leadership Panel on the Future of Marketing’ for the Canadian Marketing Association.
Speaking from Toronto, he spoke to RCI about the challenges facing retailers, especially electronics retailers.
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