Bell has signed a deal with Best Buy Canada to rebrand its The Source stores as ‘Best Buy Express’ locations.
Under the agreement, 165 of The Source’s stores will become Best Buy-branded in the second half of 2024. According to The Globe and Mail, The Source has around 300 locations across Canada, and those not included in this agreement will be closed.
The new Best Buy Express stores will sell general consumer electronics as well as Bell’s telecom services, including those from its Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile brands. Per the arrangement, Bell will handle store operations and staffing, although employees will receive training from both companies. The Globe and Mail notes that a Bell spokesperson wouldn’t confirm an exact breakdown of the ownership structure of Best Buy Express between the two companies.
The Source began business in Canada way back in 1986 as the Canadian wing of U.S.-based RadioShack. However, it was rebranded as The Source by Circuit City in 2005 after RadioShack won an injunction that stopped the company from using that name. A few years later, the “by Circuit City” branding was dropped after parent company InterTAN filed for bankruptcy.
In 2009, Bell acquired The Source for an undisclosed sum, at which time the retailer had around 750 stores.
Throughout that time, Best Buy operated both its own stores and, following a 2001 acquisition, Future Shop locations. While Best Buy shuttered all of the Future Shop stores in 2015, it has continued to operate big-box Best Buy locations, as well as smaller Best Buy Mobile locations.
With the Bell partnership, Best Buy says it wants to leverage The Source locations to increase its presence in malls and small- to mid-sized communities.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Source: Bell Via: The Globe and Mail
