Future Shop is introducing a more family-friendly image in an effort to further broaden its appeal beyond techno-happy men interested in nothing but the latest electronic fads and gadgets.

The cornerstone of the new image is the concept of a Life Store ­ Life being an acronym for Lively, Interactive, Fun, Friendly and Entertaining.

Peter de Verteuil, director of advertising and public relations for the Vancouver-based company, says one of the more obvious illustrations of the new approach is an in-store area called Future Generations where children can play educational and entertaining computer games at child-sized desks while their parents shop.

In keeping with the kiddy theme, a TechnoCat icon was created to identify the Future Generations section. De Verteuil says eventually there will be a TechnoCat mascot available for store visits.

About a dozen of Future Shop’s 76 Canadian stores already feature Future Generations sections and the concept will continue to be rolled out to the rest of the chain.

The Life concept is designed to make the shopping experience more enjoyable, says de Verteuil, adding that every department will reflect the new ideology in some way. For example, there is now theatre-style seating in the home theatre area of the store.

‘It’s not so much that we’re marketing to kids but rather that we’re trying to be as family-friendly as we can. Most of our customers are families and we really can appeal to all members of the family.’

De Verteuil says the demographic of the Future Shop customer has become less male-skewed over its 15-year history and more evenly-balanced with female shoppers and families.

Family will be the focus of most advertising, although the store’s music section will still be targeted towards teens through music video service MuchMusic.

Broadcast has become a bigger part of Future Shop’s media mix in the past few years and the company is investing more in its creative.

This repositioning of the company and its increased presence in the u.s. has prompted Future Shop to put the broadcast portion of its $20 million ad account under review.

Four agencies have been shortlisted: Bozell Worldwide, Toronto; W.B. Doner, Detroit, Mich.; Evans Group, Seattle, Wash.; and Palmer Jarvis, Vancouver.

Incumbents MacLaren McCann Vancouver and McCann Erickson of Seattle, which had split the business for over a year, did not make the final cut.

De Verteuil says a final decision is expected to be made at the end of the month but, depending on what agency is chosen, a media buying service for either the u.s. or Canada may be required.

Future Shop has been growing aggressively in both Canada and the u.s., where it has 24 stores with plans to add four more this year.

Gary Patterson, Future Shop’s chief financial officer, says two more stores will be added to its Canadian chain this year and a number of older stores will be renovated or relocated.

In the u.s., the company has been concentrating on the Pacific Northwestern region of the country comprised of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana.

This growth is continuing although for its year ended March 31, Future Shop’s earnings were $5 million, down from $17 million a year earlier ­ despite the fact that the company had enjoyed a $200 million jump in sales.

Patterson credits the competitive u.s. market for the slide in earnings.

‘The US market is much more competitive than the Canadian market so the result is no one is doing very well in the u.s., including us.’

Patterson says competition in the u.s. comes from national electronics chains such as Circuit City, computer superstores such as CompUSA and Computers, as well as big-box office supply chains and major regional competitors.

He says in Canada, there is no other true national electronics company competing with Future Shop but rather a number of regional chains, department stores and specialty shops.

To stay competitive, Patterson says new products have been added to the mix, while new sections have been added to the store through partnerships with companies like Bell Mobility.

Patterson says the new product mix also helps to bring people into the stores at a younger age and to keep them coming back through the various stages of their life.