Future Shop...gone

[Jmac]

Originally Posted by SoNaRWaVe

pushing warranty has always been at BB. at least it has been with my purchases from there.

its where they really rake in the dough and commissions

BB is non-commission

It is highly profitable, however.

[dub.g]

the best buy south van is more dead than the bridgeport location.. the only time i seen that place get moderate amount of people was during ps4/xbox launch period and boxing day of course... and its not exactly pedestrian friendly since its on 2nd floor of shopping complex

so no more 10% off price matching between fs and bb

[AzNightmare]

Originally Posted by dub.g

the best buy south van is more dead than the bridgeport location.. the only time i seen that place get moderate amount of people was during ps4/xbox launch period and boxing day of course... and its not exactly pedestrian friendly since its on 2nd floor of shopping complex

so no more 10% off price matching between fs and bb

I go to Sportcheck and CanadianTire at least once a month, but I have never noticed a BestBuy within that same "plaza" ??
Had to Google map it to find this south van BB. I even knew there was a Mark's and Marshall there, although I never step foot in there before.

[mickz]

Originally Posted by Jas29

bought a samsung dishwasher from futureshop on thursday was asked to buy extended warranty 6 times. four years for 140 dollars. I knew exactly what I wanted and the salesman was still able to annoy me

Reminds me of the time I bought Guitar Hero from the FS on Bridgeport. The sales associate kept trying to push the warranty on me so I asked him what would be covered. He told me if the guitar strings break or if the speakers stopped working I could bring it back for a straight exchange.

I replied with, "Great! Because this guitar has no strings or speakers."

[thumper]

This is the scene greeting shoppers outside future shop central city:

[v_tec]

The following Future Shop stores in B.C. are closed for good, according to Global BC.

Vancouver – 1740 West Broadway
Abbotsford – West Oaks Mall
Coquitlam – Coquitlam Centre
Kelowna – Orchard Plaza
Langley – Langley Centre
North Vancouver – 1076 Marine Drive
Richmond – Lansdowne Centre
Richmond – 2780 Sweden Way
Surrey – Central City Shopping Centre

[snails]

well, if anyone is interested in as to why this happened at the meeting today we had it was explained ( i work at the large distribution warehouse )

bestbuy was purchase in early 2000's. but before it was purchased futureshop and bestbuy were about to essentially go to war in canada. last minute before futureshop officialy opened they bought bestbuy. By that time it was too late to scrap the bestbuy brand so they ran with it and it did great having the 2 brands "compete"

as of late they dont have much competition at a store level and online shopping is growing by the day.. so they are basically competing with themselves for real estate, advertising and vendor contracts

over the past few years there was a growing trend of people preffering the bestbuy brand over futurshop for obvious reasons.

futureshop employees were making less money (commission) because online sales were growing.. even online sales within the store wouldnt make them commission so they wouldnt go out of their way to really help a customer find what they needed.

so as online shopping grows, commission sales drop. and so does customer service so now the plan is to put all advertising and headcount into the bestbuy brand.. but who knows if its too late for that now

so of course thats the brand that dies and it makes sense

the futureshop brand dying hit the warehouse pretty hard today in terms of layoffs and internal changes as well. sooooo maybe i will be on the market soon


for the record ive had great success with the warranty when it comes to the mobile department but i wouldnt consider buying it for anything else

[Verdasco]

Originally Posted by way2quik

Surprised to see Bridgeport location close, then there's the next closest BestBuy is by Main and Ontario.

next closest bestbuy is in richmond lansdowne mall

[hotjoint]

Feel bad for the employees but I always preferred best buy over future shop

[RickyTan3]

Originally Posted by snails

well, if anyone is interested in as to why this happened at the meeting today we had it was explained ( i work at the large distribution warehouse )

bestbuy was purchase in early 2000's. but before it was purchased futureshop and bestbuy were about to essentially go to war in canada. last minute before futureshop officialy opened they bought bestbuy. By that time it was too late to scrap the bestbuy brand so they ran with it and it did great having the 2 brands "compete"

as of late they dont have much competition at a store level and online shopping is growing by the day.. so they are basically competing with themselves for real estate, advertising and vendor contracts

over the past few years there was a growing trend of people preffering the bestbuy brand over futurshop for obvious reasons.

futureshop employees were making less money (commission) because online sales were growing.. even online sales within the store wouldnt make them commission so they wouldnt go out of their way to really help a customer find what they needed.

so as online shopping grows, commission sales drop. and so does customer service so now the plan is to put all advertising and headcount into the bestbuy brand.. but who knows if its too late for that now

so of course thats the brand that dies and it makes sense

the futureshop brand dying hit the warehouse pretty hard today in terms of layoffs and internal changes as well. sooooo maybe i will be on the market soon


for the record ive had great success with the warranty when it comes to the mobile department but i wouldnt consider buying it for anything else

Little insider secret as well. Nothing was really profiting except mobile.

Mobile is 50% of their business.....

everything IS dieing, computer sales, home theater etc. The only aspect in the company was services (computer and home theater etc) but they are having hard time selling it. The attempt from branding Geek Squad in future shop instead of Connect Pro.

[Mr.C]

Originally Posted by RickyTan3

Little insider secret as well. Nothing was really profiting except mobile.

Mobile is 50% of their business.....

everything IS dieing, computer sales, home theater etc. The only aspect in the company was services (computer and home theater etc) but they are having hard time selling it. The attempt from branding Geek Squad in future shop instead of Connect Pro.

Would've helped if they hadn't gutted Geek Squad back in 2012. Whoops.

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by RickyTan3

Little insider secret as well. Nothing was really profiting except mobile.

Mobile is 50% of their business.....

everything IS dieing, computer sales, home theater etc. The only aspect in the company was services (computer and home theater etc) but they are having hard time selling it. The attempt from branding Geek Squad in future shop instead of Connect Pro.

I guess there isn't enough profit margin in TVs?

[evlee]

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

I guess there isn't enough profit margin in TVs?

never did. back in the late 90's early 2000's i use to sell electronics/car audio.

the store make about 5% profit margin on TV, DVD, speakers, etc. the store makes its money is on warranty, accessories (speaker wires, connectors, power bar, tv stand, speaker stand, etc) profit margin is 35%+, back then car audio was huge and custom install like amp rack, sub enclosures, custom deck install the store was making a killing specially when we have a line of people scheduled to come in for 2-15k complete car audio.

[Simplex123]

I just got laid off.. I worked at the Lansdowne location which was the Best in Canada for the year.. so my experience at the store level may not be the same as other stores..

Home Theatre and appliances had the most margin out of the whole store other than cables and wires. Roughly about 20% margin on average even when on sale. Speakers had a 50% margin and when it would go on sale it would still have 15-20% margin. Services had a 55% margin, so any warranty or labour was where money was being made.

It wasn't like what Snails said in the case of my store. All the sales were actually making money. And you get the same amount of commission for helping the customer order online if the item was not in stock in-store. I can see people saying that commissioned sales people are useless as most people grab and go. But those are definitely not the people that would even come to the store in the first place. The well informed customers that have been eyeing things down for months will buy online or buy only during Boxing Day. Most people that come to the store actually want help. And the ones that come to Future Shop are the ones that have questions and need help -- which clerks at Best Buy cannot do anything for them. Though we are commissioned, we are generally more knowledgeable about the products and do care about the customers and want them to buy the right products; because if we don't it will get returned and it will be deducted from our commission in the end. But I can only speak for my own store, maybe we were well trained and managed which made us best in Canada.

The layoff doesn't really affect me too much because I only worked 3 days while going to school, but it sucks for the old guys -- especially the ones who were not too fluent in english and survived on Richmond's Chinese customers. They have been working here for years and really have nowhere to go. The severance I thought was sufficient at least for sales (10-12 weeks of pay averaged from your pay cheque form the past few weeks).

[Tapioca]

The one thing about Future Shop that will be missed is that they're the only big box retailer in Canada that sold higher end audio products, such as Marantz and Martin Logan. Independents don't have as much volume, so discounts on these brands will be tougher to come by.

The younger people outsource expertise and product experience on run-of-the-mill electronics to bloggers, Amazon reviews, and forums. However, if you're in the market for niche products, there are very few players left on the market.

[Traum]

For people seeking higher end audio products, do they actually bother with big box stores though? With niche products, I thought you almost always have to go to the niche retailers to find the good stuff. Big boxes just tend to carry the entry level and at most, mid trim items that cater to a wider general audience.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Traum

For people seeking higher end audio products, do they actually bother with big box stores though? With niche products, I thought you almost always have to go to the niche retailers to find the good stuff. Big boxes just tend to carry the entry level and at most, mid trim items that cater to a wider general audience.

Future Shop carried Marantz, Martin Logan, Pioneer Elite, Definitive Technology, and others. These aren't super high end brands, but better than what other stores carry. Buying power also meant a discount on these brands on occasion, which you probably can't get at the few independents left.

But, hey, most people just buy TVs for size and are happy with $200 soundbars. Besides, serving niche markets is not sustainable, but it was nice for those wanting discounts and a return policy.

[twitchyzero]

agreed on the higher end HT stuff... so glad I bought a F8500 few months ago from FS
then again, they were becoming unicorns practically anywhere

[EmperorIS]

Futureshop smells better than Bestbuy.

[Matsuda]

I worked at the Surrey Central location. I started out in the camera department (coincidence??) and after a round of layoffs a year ago, my department was combined with computers and mobile audio (headphones, car audio).

I did alright in sales, I liked to think I was quite knowledgeable with cameras and computers. car audio...yeah I really didn't know shit. I HATED pushing warranties and services but as sales, you felt pressured from the higher ups to push it because that's where the margin is. Especially when selling computers/laptops where it was the lowest margin. I had some of the lowest warranty/services numbers sold in my store simply cause I didn't pressure my customers hard for it.

We had trouble having actual products in stock. It got to the point where one thing that was commonly heard was "sorry, we're out of stock" It wasn't uncommon for a customer try to buy a laptop and 4 or 5 choices had to be ordered online. It was especially fustrating in the camera department, the cabinets were practically empty for 4 or 5 straight months. We also had to help the merchandisers put away products because they laid off half the merchandising team a year before.

I was in a program called Future Leaders, basically a training program that would lead to some sort of leadership program aka some sort of management. I quit about halfway though because honestly, I didn't see a future at the store (guess I was right).

It was doomed to fail and I'm surprised we lasted this long. More and more people buying online, we could barely keep stock to sell in store. We had less than the staff than before and were still expected to keep the same numbers in whatever they measured their metrics in. Oh and the fact that there was a BB across the parking lot which we pricematched/pricebeat on a day to day basis. You're pricebeating your own company!...wtf.

Anyways, I will miss working with my coworkers, we did have a great team and I'll even miss some of my regular customers. But its time to move on to better things.

[parm104]

Some very smart comments and insights in this thread from a few users (Simplex123 and Matsuda.)

The fact of the matter is, commissioned salesman like the ones at Future Shop are generally going to have more product knowledge than someone at a store like Best Buy. Their paycheck relies on their ability to know their products and the comparisons between the various technologies. If you wanted a deal, if you wanted to have someone answer questions who truly knew the differences between his TV's, computers, and cameras, you would go to Future Shop.

Best Buy simply does not compare to Future Shop in those aspects. Instead, you have these big open store concepts and employees are there as greeters and people who can reach product for you instead of product-knowledgeable staff associates.

[quasi]

^

That's exactly what I'm looking for in a salesman. I do my own research no matter if I'm buying a Car, TV or Toaster. My last two vehicles I negotiated over the phone, no test drive just showed up, signed the papers and drove away. I'm so not into wasting peoples time or having mine wasted.

[snails]

Originally Posted by parm104

Some very smart comments and insights in this thread from a few users (Simplex123 and Matsuda.)

The fact of the matter is, commissioned salesman like the ones at Future Shop are generally going to have more product knowledge than someone at a store like Best Buy. Their paycheck relies on their ability to know their products

my comment was based on the meeting and what was explained to us, it was in no way bias by how i actually felt

and i kinda disagree with the second part.. knowing you products is one thing, of course. but they also know where their margins are so they can/will push you to buy something they can make more money on even if its not something you need.

example. i bought my car audio system thru them because obviously i have a discount and i like to think i have decent knowledge of car audio as well. so i went into a location that had everything i needed (i checked online) and went in with a very specific list. of course they had no problem helping me based on the money i was prepared to spend before discount but they kept insisting on me going with a higher gauge wire kit. in this case it was a 0-2 gauge or something to run a 500w at 2ohm. anyone who knows their car audio knows thats insanely over kill and the guy was just pushing trying to say my sub wouldnt get power and all this stuff. it was as if he refused to grab my 8 gauge kit and pretty much told me i was stupid untttiiiiiiiill we started ringing it all up and i told him it was a staff purchase and his entire attitude changed

same thing happened when i went christmas shopping and i was constantly pushed to buy other products. once i got back to the warehouse and i see the profit margins and i understand why they were pushing so hard


now i get it. some people are great sales people regardless. but im just talking in general. people are there to make money, how do they make money? sell the highest margin products.

anyways. if you go into futureshop and you know what you need down to every detail you will understand the problem with commission. but if you go in there without a clue you are much better off as bestbuy employees arnt paid to hold your hand and from my experience its almost impossible to even get their attention

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by Matsuda

I worked at the Surrey Central location. I started out in the camera department (coincidence??) and after a round of layoffs a year ago, my department was combined with computers and mobile audio (headphones, car audio).

I did alright in sales, I liked to think I was quite knowledgeable with cameras and computers. car audio...yeah I really didn't know shit. I HATED pushing warranties and services but as sales, you felt pressured from the higher ups to push it because that's where the margin is. Especially when selling computers/laptops where it was the lowest margin. I had some of the lowest warranty/services numbers sold in my store simply cause I didn't pressure my customers hard for it.

We had trouble having actual products in stock. It got to the point where one thing that was commonly heard was "sorry, we're out of stock" It wasn't uncommon for a customer try to buy a laptop and 4 or 5 choices had to be ordered online. It was especially fustrating in the camera department, the cabinets were practically empty for 4 or 5 straight months. We also had to help the merchandisers put away products because they laid off half the merchandising team a year before.

I was in a program called Future Leaders, basically a training program that would lead to some sort of leadership program aka some sort of management. I quit about halfway though because honestly, I didn't see a future at the store (guess I was right).

It was doomed to fail and I'm surprised we lasted this long. More and more people buying online, we could barely keep stock to sell in store. We had less than the staff than before and were still expected to keep the same numbers in whatever they measured their metrics in. Oh and the fact that there was a BB across the parking lot which we pricematched/pricebeat on a day to day basis. You're pricebeating your own company!...wtf.

Anyways, I will miss working with my coworkers, we did have a great team and I'll even miss some of my regular customers. But its time to move on to better things.

One of our techs used to work at futureshop and he does pretty well. He doesn't push warranty but he does sell a lot of power bars with surge protection (I remember he mentions they were at least $60 or more ) so I guess that's where he gets his commission.

Power bar/surge protection is a lot easier to sell than a warranty if you ask me.

[AzNightmare]

In the end of the day, I don't really trust salespeople. This is what it came down to for me.

There has been many cases where I did my own research prior to, but was hoping for a second opinion, but found out the salesman only had generic info to offer. I'm the type of person who relies heavily on online research, so it only takes me about 30 seconds to know if I already know more than this salesman or not. TBH, I would rather use the gaming tech thread on RS to get info, in what I think would be more reliable, than a salesperson.

Maybe that's just me.

But the fact I have information all laid out in writing, and I can take my time to narrow down what I really want before I head on over to a store really helps. Rather than get info on the spot from a salesperson, and then either need to make a choice there, or come back later when I had time to think about it.