This is going to take some time

Sign outside former Future Shop store, Granville Street and Robson Street, Vancouver, BC

Entrance to former Future Shop store, Granville Street and Robson Street, Vancouver, BC

Sign at entrance to former Future Shop store, Granville Street and Robson Street, Vancouver, BC

 

Sign on the wall, adjacent to former Future Shop store, Granville Street and Robson Street, Vancouver, BC

Future Shop has been a fixture in Canada for since the early 1980s. In 2001, the firm was purchased by Best Buy and in 2002 Best Buy started opening up Canadian stores under the Best Buy banner.

In some cases the Best Buy stores were in close proximity to Future Shop locations. No one should have been surprised when the Best Buy locations cannibalized Future Shop store sales.

And the entire sorry mess came to a head March 28, 2015 when Best Buy announced that Future Shop was disappearing from the Canadian retail landscape. Half the stores are changing to Best Buy, while the other half are closing altogether.

Given the intense competition from online retailers, it should not have been a big surprise that Best Buy would have to pull the plug.

But the rebranding effort is going to take some time. These photos were taken on April 2nd, and the store was to reopen as a Best Buy location on April 4th.

I wonder how long it will take to get all of the Future Shop branding replaced?