Electronics retailer Future Shop said Wednesday that it will be closing the doors to its Gloucester Silver City Centre store effective Friday morning.
The retailer, which is owned by Best Buy, has been struggling in recent years to compete with online competitors such as Amazon.com and Tigerdirect and more aggressive pricing from traditional competitors such as Walmart.
Best Buy has said the tight competition in Canada’s electronic retailing landscape will see it cut 950 positions this year and shutter some stores.
With the Gloucester closure, Future Shop will have eight stores in the city, including one about 15 minutes from the Gloucester location at 2020 Mer Bleue Rd. in Orléans, and another in Cornwall.
Spokesman Elliott Chun said the company made the decision partly due to the fact that the location’s lease was coming up for renewal.
“The lease at our Ottawa East Future Shop store is expiring and we have made the decision not to renew the lease,” he said in an emailed statement. “All employees will have the opportunity to apply for positions at nearby Future Shop or Best Buy stores with hiring priority. Our goal is to keep as many of the employees as we can.”
The company did not say how many employees are affected by the store closure. Chun said the company would offer affected workers severance packages as well as outplacement services to help them find another job.
