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Future Shop at Eglinton and Laird closed down 5 days ago, and Canadian Tire is taking its place. (Moving from the current location to make room for new development that will take advantage of the Crosstown LRT stop)

The sign on Future Shop directs people to Yonge/Eg or Best Buy in Leaside. Absolutely no mention of a replacement, so I guess that would be the first victim.
 
Future Shop at Eglinton and Laird closed down 5 days ago, and Canadian Tire is taking its place. (Moving from the current location to make room for new development that will take advantage of the Crosstown LRT stop)

The sign on Future Shop directs people to Yonge/Eg or Best Buy in Leaside. Absolutely no mention of a replacement, so I guess that would be the first victim.
Canadian Tire isn't moving very far.
 
I visited the Best Buy at Eglinton and Warden this week to purchase a Blu-ray player.

My first observation was that I may have been the only customer in the store and that there were employees all over the place none of whom seemed much interested in me.

My second observation was that only 3 choices were available on the largely empty shelves.

I interrupted a spirited discussion being held by a group of 4 employees with a question as to which machine would be the best choice for my needs, none of them knew a thing about Blu-ray players but called on another fellow to come over and help me.
His help consisted of reading the spec's and prices on the displays for me, a few questions later it dawned on me that he didn't know anymore about these things than I did and he cared a whole lot less.
 
I interrupted a spirited discussion being held by a group of 4 employees with a question as to which machine would be the best choice for my needs, none of them knew a thing about Blu-ray players but called on another fellow to come over and help me.
His help consisted of reading the spec's and prices on the displays for me, a few questions later it dawned on me that he didn't know anymore about these things than I did and he cared a whole lot less.

I'm the opposite of the "showrooming" customer. I'll look at reviews online, see what the stores are charging online, then go to the store and buy it myself - I get it right away and it's easier to return if necessary. There's no need to ask one of the nearly useless salespeople because I've already done my homework. Not that I buy electronics very often, but that's how I do it.
 
I do a combination of "showrooming" and "research." If the brick-and-mortar retailer is cheaper, I go there. If online is cheaper (after S&H), I buy online.
 
Future Shop at Eglinton and Laird closed down 5 days ago, and Canadian Tire is taking its place. (Moving from the current location to make room for new development that will take advantage of the Crosstown LRT stop)

The sign on Future Shop directs people to Yonge/Eg or Best Buy in Leaside. Absolutely no mention of a replacement, so I guess that would be the first victim.
What about Pets Mart? It is in between those two. It would make sense for CT to take over both locations and have a decent sized store. Of course if it is still to be managed by the same tool as now it will not be any better, just bigger.
 
Future Shop at Eglinton and Laird closed down 5 days ago, and Canadian Tire is taking its place. (Moving from the current location to make room for new development that will take advantage of the Crosstown LRT stop)

What development? I haven't heard anything except what's planned for the corner of Eg and Brentcliffe. Have any details?
 
What development? I haven't heard anything except what's planned for the corner of Eg and Brentcliffe. Have any details?

Nothing yet, but the owner (I believe it is RioCan?) of the plaza at Eglinton/Laird has applied to have the corner (Where Canadian Tire sits) rezoned for mixed use from employment. PetsMart is not part of the plan and is still open.
 
Nothing yet, but the owner (I believe it is RioCan?) of the plaza at Eglinton/Laird has applied to have the corner (Where Canadian Tire sits) rezoned for mixed use from employment. PetsMart is not part of the plan and is still open.

donoreo, the Eg-Laird store has been under new ownership since late last year.
 
Best Buy is going to open next to the Target in the Stockyards (despite Future Shop being very close).
 
[h=2]Best Buy laying off 2,000 workers[/h]
  • Article by: ADAM BELZ , Star Tribune
  • Updated: February 26, 2014 - 4:13 PM
The cut amounts to just over 1 percent of the company’s workforce and comes a day before its quarterly earnings announcement.



Best Buy
is laying off about 2,000 employees today, a cut of about one percent of its global workforce that comes just a day before it reports quarterly results, according to multiple media reports. The layoff is the latest sign of a change in momentum at Best Buy. After a strong rebound in 2013 from a difficult 2012, Best Buy in January announced that holiday sales came in below expectations and said it would cut jobs in its Canadian stores.
The New York Post was first to report the new layoffs, citing an anonymous source and reporting that “affected workers are mostly in middle management.” Best Buy declined to comment.
The company employed 167,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal workers at the start of February a year ago, the latest period for which employment data is available.
Best Buy is set to report its fiscal fourth quarter earnings on Thursday morning. The Richfield-based retailer last month disclosed that sales at stores open for at least a year fell 0.9 percent in November and December. The company’s stock took a beating, falling 29 percent on Jan. 16, to $26.83 per share and sinking lower over the course of the month.
Stock in the company has recovered a little ground in February and rallied Wednesday on news of the layoffs. Best Buy shares were up more nearly 3 percent shortly before trading closed.
 
[h=2]Best Buy says turnaround effort is making progress[/h]
  • Article by: JACKIE CROSBY , Star Tribune
  • Updated: February 27, 2014 - 12:39 PM
A day after apparently cutting 2,000 jobs, electronics retailer says sales will remain under pressure in first half of 2014.


Best Buy Co. says it is seeing fruits of its “Renew Blue” turnaround at a faster clip than even it imagined, as the company closes the books on a year dinged by a disappointing holiday season.
Leaders of the Richfield-based retailer said Thursday that they set a goal of excising $725 million in excess costs over an unspecified number of years, and last year were able to trim $765 million.
“That’s much faster than anybody expected,” CEO Hubert Joly said in an interview.
Joly did not confirm reports that the company laid off 2,000 store managers on Wednesday, but acknowledged that some stores saw cuts. But he stressed that savings aren’t coming on the backs of employees.
The “vast majority” of cost savings have come from non-salary expenses, he said, such as procurement processes, supply chain savings and reductions in the number of returns, replacements and damages.
“I consider reducing headcount is never a priority,” he said. “Sometimes it is inevitable and you have to do it. But we’re not declaring victory based on reducing headcount.”
He said the company continues to invest in people and technology when it serves efforts to build online traffic or bring new customers to stores. “We have to adapt to the times,” he said.
Fourth-quarter profit at the nation’s largest consumer electronics retailer easily beat investors’ lowered expectations, but executives tamped down hopes for the coming months, saying sales were expected to remain “slightly negative” through the first half of the year.
“We are focused on what we can control and are approaching the year in a prudent fashion,” Joly told investors in a morning conference call.
The company said it earned $293 million, or 83 cents a diluted share, in the three months ended Feb. 1. That compares to a loss of $409 million in the same period a year ago.
Revenue was $14.5 billion, down from $14.9 billion a year ago. Sales in U.S. stores open at least one year fell 1.2 percent, more than the 0.9 percent drop the company announced last month for the first nine weeks of the quarter.
Best Buy shares has risen about 5 percent by midday on the New York Stock Exchange.
The news came a day after the company reportedly laid off what would amount to about 1.4 percent of its workforce, in its biggest job action since July 2012. The company’s turnaround through much of 2013 was dampened by weaker-than-expected results during the holiday period.
“We gained market share,” Joly said, “but it came at a cost.”
The cost was promotional pricing that eroded profit margins.
A bright spot for the company came in online sales and, in particular, Best Buy’s “ship-from-store” service that has been expanded to all 1,400 stores.
Online sales increased by 25 percent, compared with an 11 percent bump last year, with sales picking up after the holidays. Joly acknowledged the company “has some catching up to do,” but said that it is gaining market share online as well.
Sales from the company’s website accounted for 12.7 percent of total sales in the quarter, up from 10 percent a year ago. The company replaced its decade-old search engine before the holidays, which it said provided a needed boost in transactions, and that it expects even bigger payoffs in the year ahead.


Half of online purchases are picked up in stores, which the company sees as a competitive advantage over online-only retailers.
“We love that,” said chief financial officer, Sharon McCollam, who said it gives store workers the chance to interact and “build relationships” with customers.
“One thing the competition cannot do is give it to them at this very moment,” she said.
Adjusted for restructuring charges and other one-time issues, Best Buy’s profit amounted to $1.24 in earnings per share, well above the $1.01 that analysts were expecting after they reduced forecasts last month but below the $1.47 comparable figure of the year-ago quarter.
In early January, analysts were forecasting adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share. They slashed that number in the wake of Best Buy’s mid-January announcement of the 0.9 percent drop in same-store sales during the holidays.
Best Buy executives in November warned they expected the holiday season to be heavily promotional and that they intended to match prices of competitors, even online sellers that tend to have a lower cost structure than the company does.
Joly said that the company’s “Renew Blue” structural transformation is a “multiyear journey.” He added, “While it is off to an encouraging start, it is still in the early stages.”
Officials said that while it appeared that sales declined in January, they were in fact slightly better than during the holidays and “in line” with expectations when accounting for a profit-sharing payment made last year but not this year.
Staff writer Steve Alexander contributed to this report
Jackie Crosby • 612-673-7335
http://www.startribune.com/business/247497061.html
 

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