In a surprise announcement to Future Shop employees across the country on Saturday morning, the Future Shop brand will have no future effective immediately with the closure of half of all stores today.

In a surprise announcement to Future Shop employees across the country on Saturday morning, the Future Shop brand will have no future effective immediately with the closure of half of all stores today.

The other half will re-open and transition to Best Buy stores on Saturday, April 4th.

The news certainly came as a surprise to Leon Zebrowski when he went to Future Shop on Great Northern Road to drop off his computer.

Zebrowski told SooToday Future Shop is his go-to place for computer servicing and for ink because the service is always good, fast and professional.

What services will be available when the store re-opens next week is unclear but some say there have been cuts to staff.

White paper covers the doors and windows and, although there were clearly people inside, no one would come out and speak to our reporters.

Best Buy and Future Shop share the same parent company, and in many cities, the two stores directly compete with each other.

In recent years, both retailers have faced increasing competition from online stores.

The Sault Ste. Marie location, facing no other direct competition locally, will be turned into a Best Buy over the coming week and re-open next weekend.

The company said it was shutting down 66 Future Shop stores immediately, while the remaining 65 stores will be converted into Best Buy locations.

It also says Future Shop gift cards will be honoured by Best Buy both in stores and online at BestBuy.ca

Approximately 500 full-time and 1000 part-time jobs will be lost as a result of the consolidation.

Future Shop was founded in 1982 in Vancouver, BC, and bought by Best Buy in 2001 for $580 million.

The full text of a news release from Best Buy Canada follows.

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BURNABY, BC – (March 28, 2015) – To strengthen its position as Canada’s leading provider of consumer electronics products, services and solutions, Best Buy Canada, a subsidiary of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) – which owns and operates both Best Buy and Future Shop stores – today announced it is consolidating the Future Shop and Best Buy stores and websites under the Best Buy brand and unveiled an ambitious plan to build a leading multi-channel customer experience.

Best Buy Canada also announced today it has reviewed its real estate footprint to address the fact that a significant number of its Future Shop and Best Buy stores are located adjacent to each other, often in the same parking lot.

The result of this review is the closure of 66 Future Shop locations, effective today. Concurrently, an additional 65 Future Shop stores will be temporarily closed for one week as they begin their transition to the Best Buy brand.

The company will now have a total of 192 locations across Canada, including 136 large-format stores and 56 Best Buy Mobile stores.

“Currently, 80 per cent of our customers are within a 15 minute drive to a store and this won’t change,” said Ron Wilson, President and COO of Best Buy Canada. “We will continue to have a strong store presence in all major markets in Canada.”

As a result of this consolidation, approximately 500 full-time and 1,000 part-time positions will be eliminated.

The affected employees will receive severance, employee assistance and outplacement support.

“Any decisions that impact our people are never taken lightly; our first priority is to support them through this change,” Wilson said. “I want to express my appreciation to the employees who are leaving, for their contributions to Best Buy Canada.”

Providing a seamless customer experience to all Future Shop and Best Buy customers is a key focus throughout this transition.

All Future Shop gift cards will be accepted at any Best Buy Canada location and at BestBuy.ca.

Existing product orders, service appointments and warranties will continue to be honoured and Future Shop purchases to be returned or exchanged will also be accepted at any Best Buy.

For information on store changes and opening dates, customers are encouraged to visit our store locator.

Customers with any questions can visit BestBuy.ca/questions or call 1-866-BEST-BUY (1-866-237-8289).

Customers who visit FutureShop.ca will be guided to BestBuy.ca.

Looking ahead, investments of up to $200 million dollars will be made in Best Buy stores and BestBuy.ca, to build a leading multi-channel customer experience.

This multi-faceted strategy will include: (1) launching major home appliances in all stores; (2) working with our vendor partners to bring their products to life in a more compelling way; (3) increasing our staffing levels to better serve our customers; (4) investing in the online shopping experience, for example by expanding in-store pick-up areas for online customers and launching a ship-from-store program, making in-store inventory available to online customers across the country.

Investor Financial Update

As a result of today’s announcements, Best Buy Co., Inc. expects to increase its capital spending by up to C$200 million (approximately US$160 million) over the next 12 to 24 months. In addition, the Company expects to record restructuring charges and non-restructuring impairments in the range of C$250 to C$350 million (approximately US$200 to US$280 million), or GAAP diluted earnings per share of US$0.41 to US$0.58. This includes C$175 to C$225 million (approximately US$140 to US$180 million) of cash charges – primarily related to future rent obligations and severance – that will be paid over the next five years.

The Company also expects its GAAP and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share to be negatively impacted in FY16 in the range of US$0.10 to US$0.20 due primarily to a temporary increase in operational expenses associated with consolidation activities and store disruptions resulting from our investments to support the Best Buy multi-channel customer experience.

Due to the transitional nature of the majority of these costs, the Company does not expect this negative EPS impact to continue into future years.

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