W. Kel. Future Shop Closing!

[Rwede]

The store did more sales than the Kelowna store and the thing that makes no sense is that they keep the Kelowna one which is right across the street from Best Buy.

More sales doesn't mean it was more profitable.

[kay-c]

[/quote] I'm sorry, but the little guys do it to themselves more times then not. Specialty audio stores needed to change their marketing and target audience about 10 years ago if they were to survive. Most didn't including the one you mentioned.[/quote]

There used to be K&A audio in Kelowna they sold very high end . I miss stores like that .

[johnhenry]

Well I'm just glad there is still a Andres Electronics in West Kelowna

Yeah, but for how long?

[underscore]

Nothing bugs me more, than hearing people get BS'd by someone, who doesn't wish to admit that they don't know the answer. I've always been of the mind that the proper approach would be to say "excuse me let me go ask about that for you".

On the bright side I credit FS for giving me the incentive required to be knowledgable and competent around electronics, because prior to my teaching myself, I was getting fed a lot of nonsense and I suspected as much. Every once in a while you can find a really knowledgable person, but they seem to be few and far between.

I can't go anywhere near the FS TV department because of the crap they spew about cables. Things aren't analog anymore so the signal either gets there or it doesn't, "cable quality" makes little to no difference. If you need a cable right now go to Princess Auto cause spending $120 on an HDMI cable just means you wasted $118.

900 jobs lost at future shop 700 more jobs lost at sears. Ask these people how they feel about online shopping. I think I would rather shop local and pay a few more dollars for something than have to support people that are losing their jobs thru no fault ofr their own.

Why? Your money isn't staying in Kelowna, that extra money you pay isn't going to locals.

[Triple 6]

You can talk about Future Shop closing but do NOT post negative business reviews about them or other companies. Thanks.

[Spocky]

Yeah, but for how long?

The guys at Andres are great and the dude who ran GoodGuys joined them when he closed his store, so I hope that they can stay in it in the long run, even in the very challenging WK retail environment! I wish them well!

[Hmmm]

There used to be K&A audio in Kelowna they sold very high end . I miss stores like that .

I'm a big fan myself, in fact I used to sell mid priced gear. Mid price, by the way is the stuff Andres and BB and FS sells. The high end gear is well out of reach for most people. 10k for an amp kinda stuff.

On that note, I now have a very easy system that connects my iphone to a stereo and streams to my HD tv or from my ps3. Its not high end or mid price for that matter, but it does good and its super convenient. Its a trade off.

mp3's are not very good sound quality but most use them because you can store 1000's of songs in your pocket. Its a trade off. The results are, that the Good Guys and others like them should have switched their target market and business strategy many years ago. If the owner of Good Guys reading this, best to you.

If anyone hear owns a store like this and wants to meet to discuss a progressive strategy that will work, PM me.

[trekzep]

Although I am sure this will be deemed as off topic, for you folks that lost your jobs and those of you about to lose your jobs(if your old enough to remember the term "trickle-down effect" was quite popular in the Okanagan in the 80's) consider moving to Calgary. On my daily walk this morning I counted 34 help wanted signs in business windows. And that is only in a three block radius of my home. Calgary is the only city I've ever been to where businesses in the downtown core like Subway, Tim Horton's and Starbucks, to name a few, are closed on weekends because they can't find part time employees-there are too many full time jobs.
And if you think Calgary is still a redneck town remember we elected a young, Harvard educated Muslim as our mayor. And our comic-con last year(now the largest in Canada) hosted Stan Lee, Adam West, and a Star Trek TNG reunion. This year so far is an X-Files reunion, cast members from Boondock Saints, The Walking Dead, some Harry Potter, some Terminator and rumours are swirling about Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, oh and Weird Al Yankovic is also coming to sign autographs.
Calgary has changed a lot since I moved here from Kelowna in 2003, except the plethora of jobs.
Think I'll go enjoy the plus 5 and clear blue skies for the rest of the week.

[sislonski]

I think that as a whole, people are starting to smarten up. I blame it all on Oprah. Even though on one hand she was promoting being debt free, on the other she was flogging products left and right. Oprah's MUST HAVE. Materialism was at an all time high. Impressing the friends and neighbors, having to have the best, or what the stars have. Material consumption was getting out of hand. People spending more then they could afford and even though Oprah started promoting debt free, it was far too late. The US economy was crashing. When the US economy crashes slowly we start to feel the effects.

Majority of my online customers were US. 99% of my sales were US. When they stopped spending my online sales took a dive. As a result I'm not spending that extra money that I had two years ago.
But regardless of my sales, even when I was doing well, we made a concious decision not to get trapped into the "buying needless stuff" trap. So even though my sales took a dive. I'm okay because I'm relatively debt free.

I haven't bought anything from an electronic store in ages. I haven't made an electronic purchase from Future Shop, Best Buy London Drugs or Staples or anywhere else for that matter. I've still got the same fridge, stove, dishwasher from 10yrs ago, and the same washing machines I bought second hand 15yrs ago and they still run fine. They're not fancy schmancy but I don't care.

The last time I bought any furniture was 10yrs ago. The only thing I spend money on is clothing and that's a rarity, and the odd piece of camera equipment (I guess that might count as an electronic?), or a book, which is my downfall. We rarely eat out, or go to the movies and yet life is not boring. We travel a lot. We simply made a decision to not get into debt especially over items we don't really need. Like a new TV or Stereo, or WashMachine. We still have our television from 15yrs ago. It still works, we can still see it. Sure it's a monster but it works. We're not about keeping up with the Jones's.

I think people are finally getting it through their thick skulls that they can't afford all that material crap or the debt that goes with it. So people in general are spending less and only buying what they need. Business in general I think is going on a diet. It's us as a community realizing that we were doing just fine with the small family stores, rather then filling our fat faces with Big Box Consumerism.

Now to head outside and enjoy the sunshine the balmy temperatures and the amazing view that you can ony get in the Okanagan. LOL!

[rookie314]

Although I am sure this will be deemed as off topic, for you folks that lost your jobs and those of you about to lose your jobs(if your old enough to remember the term "trickle-down effect" was quite popular in the Okanagan in the 80's) consider moving to Calgary. On my daily walk this morning I counted 34 help wanted signs in business windows. And that is only in a three block radius of my home. Calgary is the only city I've ever been to where businesses in the downtown core like Subway, Tim Horton's and Starbucks, to name a few, are closed on weekends because they can't find part time employees-there are too many full time jobs.
And if you think Calgary is still a redneck town remember we elected a young, Harvard educated Muslim as our mayor. And our comic-con last year(now the largest in Canada) hosted Stan Lee, Adam West, and a Star Trek TNG reunion. This year so far is an X-Files reunion, cast members from Boondock Saints, The Walking Dead, some Harry Potter, some Terminator and rumours are swirling about Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, oh and Weird Al Yankovic is also coming to sign autographs.
Calgary has changed a lot since I moved here from Kelowna in 2003, except the plethora of jobs.
Think I'll go enjoy the plus 5 and clear blue skies for the rest of the week.

Calgary is a great town. Not stuck up snobby (your drinking the wrong wine) KELOWNA. Had a blast living in Calgary and if I didn't have a great job in KELOWNA I would move back in a heart beat.

[GoStumpy]

I think people are finally getting it through their thick skulls that they can't afford all that material crap or the debt that goes with it. So people in general are spending less and only buying what they need. Business in general I think is going on a diet. It's us as a community realizing that we were doing just fine with the small family stores, rather then filling our fat faces with Big Box Consumerism.

15 posts in 5 years... you sure make your posts count!!

Well Said!

[SurplusElect]

...rather then filling our fat faces with Big Box Consumerism.

According to the government, you are a enemy of the economy. In our materialistic, capitalistic system - a healthy economy relies totally on people buying material luxuries they don't need.

So come on, chip into the economy and buy a new TV for each of your bedrooms every 3 years.

According to the messages our government allows companies to project to the public (children especially) - you will never get laid, nobody will like you and you will die alone, sad and full of regret - unless you buy something - now.

Our economy revolves around that message. Embrace it.

[kay-c]

How are we supposed to get important announcements about aerodynamic condoms or enhancement medication or interesting singles? I want the life my New hair promised me!

[Jaide_d]

What I really want to know is if the employees got any compensation for losing their jobs on the spot without ANY notice. Any employee who has been there over 3 months are entitled to one weeks pay and two weeks pay if they have been there over a year.

excerpt from ministry of labor website:

"Compensation eligibility
An employee who is terminated may be eligible for compensation based on the following formula:

After three consecutive months of employment – one week’s pay;
After 12 consecutive months of employment – two weeks’ pay;
After three consecutive years – three weeks’ pay, plus one week’s pay for each additional year of employment to a maximum of eight weeks.
A week’s pay is calculated by:

Totalling the employee’s wages, excluding overtime, earned in the last eight weeks in which the employee worked normal or average hours; and
Dividing the total by eight."

"Group terminations
Where an employer intends to terminate 50 or more employees at a single location within a two-month period, the employer must give written notice of group termination to each employee affected. The employer must also notify the Minister of Labour and any trade union that represents the employees. The length of the required notice is set out in the Act and varies depending on the number of employees affected.

If written notice is not given, the employer must give termination pay instead. If the length of written notice given is less than the Act requires, the employer must give a combination of notice and termination pay."

[Fancy]

The company says those losing their jobs will receive severance support as well as access to employee assistance programs and career transition support.

from Castanet