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*best buy experience store, calgary. photo: best buy*

By Mario Toneguzzi

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Electronics retail giant Best Buy has built one of its new Experience Store formats in Calgary and it’s the company’s first new build in five years.

The 34,000-square-foot store is adjacent to the northeast Sunridge Mall and features the latest consumer technology, a full major appliances department and vendor-curated areas where customers can see, touch, and experience products.

“It gave us an opportunity to build a store from the ground up which we haven’t been able to do for awhile. It’s the first new store opening in five years,” said Glenn Minor, Vice-President of Retail for Best Buy.

Construction on the new two-floor store at 3319 26th Avenue N.E. took 10 months and Minor said the retailer now has 41 new Experience Stores across Canada.

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The new store provides Calgarians with a more immersive and interactive shopping experience.

Best Buy Canada President, Ron Wilson, said Calgary’s diverse economy, geographical advantage as one of western Canada’s major urban centres, and abundance of tech enthusiasts make it a great place to invest.

“We know Calgarians love their tech, and we want to make sure we’re providing opportunities for them to learn about how tech products can enrich their lives,” he said. “The Sunridge store is the latest evolution of our Experience Store concept, offering customers the opportunity to truly ‘experience’ the latest tech products. Our knowledgeable Blue Shirt associates can answer all their questions – whether it’s how smart home tech works, how to interact with their smart TV, or which headphone is best for their needs.”

SLIDESHOW (swipe)

BEST BUY EXPERIENCE STORE, CALGARY. PHOTO: BEST BUY

Minor said the new stores are designed with experience in mind.

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“Right off the top when you first walk in, you’ll notice all the aesthetic changes as well. It’s just a clean presentation. It looks so fantastic. I’m so excited,” he said.

“Calgary’s diverse economy, it has a geographical advantage as one of Canada’s major urban centres. There’s an abundance of tech enthusiasts here which makes it a great place to open another Experience Store. We actually have one already here in Calgary. This will be our second Experience Store in Calgary. The other one is in Deerfoot Meadows.”

The Deerfoot Meadows store opened a few years ago.

The company has 131 Best Buy stores in Canada and is one of the country’s largest and most successful omni-channel retailers, operating the Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, and Geek Squad (www.geeksquad.ca) brands. The retailer has more than 170 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores across Canada and an expanded assortment of lifestyle products offered through BestBuy.ca.

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“We have 41 of the Experience Store’s across Canada now. I believe it’s the fourth year putting Experience Stores out there. We do a few every year,” said Minor. “This upcoming year I’m not exactly sure how many we will do but we will convert some more stores into Experience Stores.

“Our customers absolutely love it. The other thing is it’s great for us to be able to get into major appliances in a much bigger way. This market in particular I believe is going to really welcome the major appliance section. It’s absolutely stunning.”

Mario Toneguzzi, based in Calgary has 37 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald covering sports, crime, politics, health, city and breaking news, and business. For 12 years as a business writer, his main beats were commercial and residential real estate, retail, small business and general economic news. He nows works on his own as a freelance writer and consultant in communications and media relations/training. Email: mdtoneguzzi@gmail.com

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