Imagine showing up to work bright and early and finding out you no longer have a job, and the place is you work at is now closed. You would assume we’re referring to a small family store but the Franchise behind these actions is actually Best Buy!
We received a tip this morning that Best Buy closed local locations in Queensborough, Langford, Kelowna and South Surrey and all there employees got laid off without notice. We immediately contacted Best Buy and received a quick e-mail back from the spokesperson who stated:
The closures are the company’s transformational “real estate optimization plan”, part of what the company calls their “Renew Blue Focus” aimed to enhance the customer experience through a “modernized multi-channel approach.”
Best Buy Canada today launched the first phase of a long-term transformational strategy to optimize the company’s retail footprint across the country. As part of this transformational plan, Best Buy will permanently close 8 Future Shop and 7 Best Buy Big Box stores today in select markets nationwide.
Over the next 36 months, Best Buy will move into the second phase of the “Renew Blue” strategy and plans to open state-of-the-art new Future Shop Small-Concept web stores and new Best Buy Mobile locations across Canada, where and when appropriate. This move will enable the company to better serve its customers in both more locations and smaller markets across the country. The move was based on an extensive review of Best Buy’s retail footprint in Canada in an effort to reduce unnecessary costs, eliminate redundant operating systems and to optimize its real estate strategy to reflect a more a changing retail landscape.
Employees affected by these closures will receive severance and given hiring preference at other existing locations. There are currently more than 120 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile locations combined with over 140 Future Shop stores across Canada.
