verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message future shop former type subsidiary industry retail fate merged with best buy founded 1982 ; 34 years ago 1982 founder hassan khosrowshahi defunct march 28 2015 2015 03 28 headquarters burnaby british columbia canada key people ron wilson president and chief operating officer annalisa king senior vice president and chief financial officer charles tobin senior vice president products electronics parent best buy canada 2001 2015 website www.futureshop.ca future shop was a canadian electronics store chain . it was established in 1982 by hassan khosrowshahi . by 1990 the chain had become the country s largest retailer of computer and consumer electronics . in january 2013 the company operated 139 locations across canada . in november 2001 future shop was acquired by the american consumer electronics store chain best buy for 580 million . although best buy began to establish canadian locations under its own name following the purchase it continued to operate the future shop stores as a separate chain even though many of the new locations were in close proximity to existing future shop stores . on march 28 2015 best buy announced the discontinuation of future shop and the closure of 66 of its locations . 1 the remaining stores were consolidated into the best buy chain as the company began the process of converting them to their name and store format . contents 1 history 1.1 beginnings 1.2 focusing on canadian markets 1.3 best buy buyout new store concepts 1.4 downsizing and closure 2 references 3 external links history edit beginnings edit a future shop store in edmonton in july 2007 future shop was founded in 1982 by iranian entrepreneur hassan khosrowshahi who left iran to settle in vancouver british columbia to start a retail business . 2 khosrowshahi graduated from the university of tehran with a degree in law and economics and was a part of the family who owned the minoo industrial group a large iran manufacturer of pharmaceuticals cosmetics and food products . khosrowshahi planned to open a chain of consumer and home electronics stores and take over the canadian retail market . his associate ardeshir ziabakhsh ardy zia took the role of president and ceo of the newly formed company and khosrowshahi served as chairman and founder . in 1983 future shop opened the first three stores all of which were in british columbia . the company sold computers software games videocassettes audio equipment music and other items . by december 1983 the first month all of the future shop stores were opened and making business the company reached 2.8 million in sales . 2 by 1990 future shop became the largest retailer of computers and consumer electronics in canada and was operating 38 stores across the country and parts of the united states . 1 2 in august 1993 future shop went public on the toronto stock exchange making 30 million to be used for expansion and to pay off debt . by the end of 1995 future shop s sales had reached more than 1 billion with more than 38 million ebitda earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization in 1997 future shop announced a change in management with ziabakhsh leaving the company . khosrowshahi took on the roles of president and ceo in addition to serving as chairman . many people from company headquarters were let go during this transitional period . focusing on canadian markets edit in 1998 future shop purchased the canadian division of computer city from compusa three months after the computer city chain had been merged into compusa and either converted to compusa or closed and liquidated . during the next year two of the computer city retail stores were liquidated because of poor sales . in addition the competing adventure electronics in ontario and quebec closed leaving future shop as the only big box electronics retailer in canada . by the end of 1998 the u.s. locations of future shop were performing badly with 53 million in losses over the last few years and future shop projected another 30 million in losses would occur by the end of the next year . after major losses in sales in march 1999 the company announced that it would close u.s. operations holding liquidation sales and closing down in the summer . 3 the closures left future shop with 81 stores across canada . many of the stores became part of one of its major u.s. competitors the best buy chain . in 2000 future shop owned 83 future shop stores and five computer city stores . in june 2000 future shop announced plans to open flagship stores in downtown vancouver toronto and montreal . in february 2001 future shop announced that the company would close and liquidate the five remaining computer city stores because of poor sales . at the same time future shop also attempted to acquire chapters a chain of book stores in canada but failed to come up with a reasonable offer . 4 best buy buyout new store concepts edit a newer styled future shop in ottawa in april 2005 in march 2001 the u.s. electronics store chain best buy acquired future shop for cdn 580 million . following the purchase khosrowshahi stepped down as president but other executives from future shop retained their positions within the company . best buy continued to operate future shop as a separate division following the purchase acknowledging the strength of the brand . however in 2002 the company began to open best buy locations in canada as a secondary chain . 5 the dual banner strategy sought to improve the company s canadian market share by providing new options to consumers ; the chains were differentiated primarily by their in store experiences and promotional strategies as future shop continued to use commission based salespersons and featured home appliance selections while best buy used non commissioned salespersons and featured more interactive displays . the differences between the stores also attracted differing demographics ; future shop s use of haggling appealed to customers who had immigrated to canada from countries where the practice is commonplace while best buy s relatively relaxed atmosphere proved popular among women . 5 in an effort to widen the chain s customer base future shop began to experiment with an updated store concept at new locations in vancouver and south edmonton common in 2008 . the new stores featured an expanded 53 000 square foot layout divided into sections for different categories of products including work computing play video games musical instruments living home appliances and exercise equipment and on the go mobile phones and audio products . the stores also featured a central hub staffed by connectivity experts whom customers could consult for personalized advice on technology options . 5 6 in december 2011 future shop opened a liquidation store in greenfield park quebec . 7 some best buy locations were located within driving distance or on the same lot as an existing future shop . in one case a best buy was opened at the toronto eaton centre at around the same time that a new future shop was placed across from dundas square . some of the new best buy locations would cannibalize sales at future shop stores located in close proximity to them but typically the new best buy would generate considerable new revenue that would more than make up for the drop in the sales of the existing future shop the net result being that the two stores increased their parent s overall market share in that area while keeping rivals out . this dual banner strategy was effective before the mass proliferation of online only retailers . 5 8 downsizing and closure edit a closed future shop store in may 2015 . on january 31 2013 best buy canada announced that it would begin to close various locations including eight future shop locations effective immediately as part of a long term transformational strategy to optimize the company s retail footprint across the country . the company also planned to target more resources toward its online retail operations to compete against other major online retailers such as amazon.com . 8 these closures included locations in new westminster nanaimo victoria langford surrey lachenaie and sherbrooke . 1 9 10 on january 30 2014 950 employees of both chains were laid off . 9 in 2014 and early 2015 other future shop locations were closed including those in boucherville greenfield park 11 montreal 12 ottawa 13 regina 14 kingston 15 new minas 16 and new glasgow . 17 on march 28 2015 best buy canada announced that the future shop chain would cease business effective immediately ; 66 locations were permanently closed . the remaining 65 locations were re opened on april 4 2015 under the management of the best buy chain and underwent the process of renovations to adopt best buy s store format and name over the months that followed . 18 19 best buy argued that these closures and re brandings were intended to reduce redundancy as the affected stores were located within close proximity of a best buy . the closures resulted in the loss of 1 000 part time and 500 full time jobs . in turn best buy announced that it would invest at least 200 million into its remaining canadian locations over the next two years including increased staffing and the introduction of home appliance departments in all of its canadian locations . 8 20 canadian best buy locations will honour future shop warranties and gift cards . 20 references edit a b c future shop stores closed across canada some to become best buy . cbc news . march 28 2015 . retrieved march 28 2015 . a b c future shop ltd. company history . fundinguniverse.com . retrieved january 10 2012 . harrington mark march 9 1999 . future shop to close u.s. stores . crn.com . retrieved january 10 2012 . timeline for chapters . allbusiness.com . retrieved january 10 2012 . a b c d strauss marina june 20 2008 . kevin layden can a dual brand strategy travel . the globe and mail . retrieved 2 april 2015 . future shop enters a brave new world . edmonton journal . september 19 2008 . retrieved 2 april 2015 . future shop opens its first ever liquidation centre in longueuil qc . futureshop.ca . december 12 2011 . retrieved april 25 2012 . a b c future shop shutters canadian stores will re brand as best buy . the globe and mail . march 28 2015 . retrieved march 28 2015 . a b best buy future shop to layoff 950 employees . toronto sun . 15 future shop and best buy stores closed across canada 900 employees laid off . vancouver sun . retrieved march 28 2015 . future shop ferme deux magasins . canoe.ca . exclusif un futur march adonis aux galeries d anjou . mercier est. future shop in gloucester to close up shop . ctv news ottawa . bell media . regina future shop closing monday . leader post . future shop to close its kingston store . the kingston whig standard . future shop closing two nova scotia locations including new minas store . kingscountynews.ca . new glasgow future shop closing friday . ngnews.ca . future shop stores re open under best buy name . toronto star . retrieved 13 april 2015 . shopping at best buy future shop is kind of confusing now . huffington post . retrieved 13 april 2015 . a b best buy will honour future shop cards warranties . toronto star . retrieved 2 april 2015 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to future shop . official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w