Best Buy permanently closes 66 Future Shop locations including Barrie

Future Shop is closing all Canadian stores and will consolidate with Best Buy on Saturday, March 28, 2015. (John Morris / Twitter)

Future Shop stores across Canada have closed effective immediately, including three from the region.

Best Buy Canada, a subsidiary of Best Buy Co. Inc. that owns and operates both Best Buy and Future Shop stores, said in a statement Saturday that it will be closing 66 Future Shops for good, while 65 others will be converted into Best Buys.

The Future Shop location in Barrie has closed permanently, while stores located in Orillia and Orangeville will be rebranded. The latter two are scheduled to reopen on April 4.

The move will result in the loss of 500 full-time and 1,000 part-times jobs, the company said.

The company added there will now be a total of 192 Best Buys in Canada, 56 of which are Best Buy Mobile stores, and that the converted stores will reopen after a one-week closure.

The decision was made after the company said it reviewed its "real estate footprint," adding that a significant number of Future Shop and Best Buy stores are located next to each other, often in the same parking lot.  Best Buy bought Future Shop in 2001.

Best Buy Canada President and COO Ron Wilson said the stores will continue to have a "strong store presence" across Canada, adding the move will not change the fact that 80 per cent of customers are within a 15-minute drive to a store.

"Any decisions that impact our people are never taken lightly; our first priority is to support them through this change," Wilson said in the statement. "I want to express my appreciation to the employees who are leaving, for their contributions to Best Buy Canada."

The company also said that all Future Shop gift cards will be accepted at any Best Buy Canada location and online, while product orders, service appointments and warranties will continue to be honoured and Future Shop purchases to be returned or exchanged will also be accepted at any Best Buy.

Best Buy has been facing tough competition from discounters and online retailers, a victim of what's known as "showrooming" -- when people browse in stores and then buy the products more cheaply online from competitors such as Amazon.

With files from The Canadian Press.