Best Buy coming to Calgary?

[Mitch D]

I was out for a drive this morning getting myself a Timmy H's coffee and spotted a sign up in the NE indicating that a Best Buy was coming to the area soon. Now this is intreging in some respects, but does this city, or this country need another big box retailer?

The sign didn't give an opening date, but it'll be interesting to see what happens.

[Crystal Eitle]

w00t! Another Minnesota company takes over the world! (Minnesota is home to Target, 3M, Honeywell, General Mills, the list goes on....)

[Linkwannabe]

You do know they own FutureShop already. And there have been Best Buy stores up there for a while now.

[Crystal Eitle]

(Although, having said that, it would be sad if Canada were to become exactly like the US. I took a road trip from Minnesota to New Mexico a few years back and was saddened to see the same big-box stores across the whole country. Except for the landscape, one town looked just like the next. I could've been anywhere.

When I visited Toronto I was pleased at how few chains there were, and how many independent shops and restaurants there were to choose from.

Also, Tim Horton's is the bomb.)

[Mitch D]

You do know they own FutureShop already. And there have been Best Buy stores up there for a while now.

Yes I knew hey bought Futureshop which is why I was surprised to see a sign for Best Buy just over 4 blocks from the nearest FS. I would have thought they would just change the name on the building. But I guess I was wrong.

Doesn't Best Buy have a layout for thier stores that is same no matter where you go?

[Crystal Eitle]

Doesn't Best Buy have a layout for thier stores that is same no matter where you go?
I think they do. Perhaps they're taking a page from Target (http://www.target.com/). Every Target store is exactly the same no matter where you go. I went to a Target in Santa Fe that was adobe on the outside, in compliance with the city's building codes, but inside was exactly the same as any Target anywhere. I could've been back in Minnesota. It was surreal. But it does make for a very familiar, comfortable, easy shopping experience. If you've never been to a Target store you may not know what I'm talking about, but Target is absolutely the best in terms of layout.

[Jason Dunn]

Woo hoo! I'm happy to see this - Future Shop's pricing is nothing special, and the brand selection will no doubt go up with Best Buy in town. Excellent!! :mrgreen:

[Linkwannabe]

Best Buy has basically the same layout, but like 4 or 5 types of stores with different sizes and small tweaks to layouts.

[Janak Parekh]

Although, having said that, it would be sad if Canada were to become exactly like the US. I took a road trip from Minnesota to New Mexico a few years back and was saddened to see the same big-box stores across the whole country. Except for the landscape, one town looked just like the next. I could've been anywhere.

When I visited Toronto I was pleased at how few chains there were, and how many independent shops and restaurants there were to choose from.
Come to Manhattan, then. ;) There's a little bit of everything here. We do have Circuit City, Best Buy, et. al., but only a few; and there's also a ton of the little independent stores. I think it's a function of the population density; the Circuit City's and Best Buys of the world seem to dominate nowadays in all but the biggest metropolises (metropoli?).

--janak

[masaki]

Yay! :D

[Mark Kenepp]

Doesn't Best Buy have a layout for their stores that is same no matter where you go?

For the most part, national retailers are successful because they are able to come up with a business model that works, this includes what is put on shelves in their stores and where. Notice there are always little "dollar" items by the cash registers :wink: They try to keep the same model where ever possible. If the local jurisdiction lets them build it, they will. (if they are not allowed to build their desired model, they may move elsewhere)

I took a road trip from Minnesota to New Mexico a few years back and was saddened to see the same big-box stores across the whole country. Except for the landscape, one town looked just like the next. I could've been anywhere.

This is the sad nature of the beast. As Janak mentions, there are some unspoiled parts of the US. Most large scale national retailers (Target, Walmart, etc.) are targeted at suburban areas and if possible along major highways. If you are driving across country, then you will be likely to see them (that is what they want). If you head downtown in even the smallest of towns, you will not likely see such large retailers though you may run into a Starbucks.

[Video11]

The BestBuy in London, Ontario opened this past Friday. One block away from a FutureShop that just opened a year ago. :roll:

They had some great opening day specials if you were willing to stand in line and brave the crowds, but, alas nothing PPC related. I drove past on Sunday and the traffic was lined up for blocks to get into the already packed parking lot. I went home and waited until today to go back.

BestBuy does have the best selection of PDA's that I have seen in Canada. HP iPaq h1910 and h39xx were there but strangely no h54xx. :? The new Viewsonic was also there along with the all the new Palms and Sony Clies. The rest of the store was nothing spectacular, IMHO not much different from FutureShop. But it is nice to have a choice.

[Mitch D]

BestBuy does have the best selection of PDA's that I have seen in Canada. HP iPaq h1910 and h39xx were there but strangely no h54xx. :?

I think that could be said of most stores when it comes to the h54xx series. I have managed to only get my hands on one for a customer and that was a special order and I bribed one of my sales reps just to get it away from a hold for a competitor. :oops:

What can I say... I have no morals! :devilboy:

[Jeff Rutledge]

Is Best Buy the place that everyone keeps upgrading their PDA's with? I keep reading about people exchanging (upping) their hardware. Is this the place? That would be all right. :lol:

[Jonathon Watkins]

So has Best Buy turned up in Calgary yet then?

[Mitch D]

So has Best Buy turned up in Calgary yet then?

The mall it is going into is almost built, no opening date that I know of yet.

[Jeff Rutledge]

So has Best Buy turned up in Calgary yet then?

The mall it is going into is almost built, no opening date that I know of yet.

Which mall is that? I hadn't heard of this yet (not that that means anything 8)).

[Mitch D]

So has Best Buy turned up in Calgary yet then?

The mall it is going into is almost built, no opening date that I know of yet.

Which mall is that? I hadn't heard of this yet (not that that means anything 8)).

It is a new strip mall going up just off of 16th Ave & 36th St. NE. Just south of Sunridge Mall. As far as I know there is no name on the mall yet JR.

[Jeff Rutledge]

So has Best Buy turned up in Calgary yet then?

The mall it is going into is almost built, no opening date that I know of yet.

Which mall is that? I hadn't heard of this yet (not that that means anything 8)).

It is a new strip mall going up just off of 16th Ave & 36th St. NE. Just south of Sunridge Mall. As far as I know there is no name on the mall yet JR.

Cool. Our family doctor is near there. I'll have to take a look next time we drive by. Thanks for the info!

[Mitch D]

"Cool. Our family doctor is near there. I'll have to take a look next time we drive by. Thanks for the info!
_________________
JR"

Anything for a fellow Calgarian JR

[Jason Dunn]

Ohhh....now I'm getting excited! :-D