Best Buy and Bell are joining forces to rebrand The Source

The Source will soon be no more, much like The Source by Circuit City and Radio Shack in Canada before it, as the retail chain’s outlets are set be rebranded as Best Buy Express.

Best Buy Canada and Bell Canada, which wholly owns The Source, have formed a strategic partnership to operate 165 consumer electronics retail stores in Canada, shuttering the remaining 100-plus locations. Both companies promise to “invest in an updated store experience, as well as an expanded product assortment, customer experience and training.”

The new Best Buy Express’ small-store format, the companies say, “will give customers an easy-to-navigate, welcoming experience, enabling customers to experience the products in person and talk with a sales associate before purchasing.”

“By combining Canada’s award-winning mobility and Internet from Bell, and converting The Source’s extensive retail footprint to Best Buy’s leading consumer electronics experience, we’re giving customers the best of all worlds for tech and telecommunications retail in Canada,” says  Blaik Kirby, Bell’s group president – consumer and SMB.

The partnership will set up Best Buy Express to offer customers Best Buy’s expertise in consumer electronics to find the latest products from leading brands, its global buying power and supply chain, along with Bell, Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile mobility, Internet, TV and home phone service offerings.

In December, Statistics Canada, which tracks nine retail subsectors, electronics included, reported that sales nudged very slightly higher in the last reporting period.