Future Shop was a Canadian consumer electronics retailer founded in 1982 by Hassan Khosrowshahi, operating stores across Canada until the brand was dissolved in 2015 following its acquisition by Best Buy in 2001.[1] The company was renamed Best Buy Canada Ltd. after the acquisition, but continued operating stores under the Future Shop name for more than a decade.[1]
Design and History
Future Shop’s visual identity was built around a red and white color scheme, which distinguished its stores from Best Buy’s blue branding even after the two chains operated under the same parent company.[2] The red signage and store decor remained a defining feature of the brand throughout its operation under Best Buy ownership.[3]
When Best Buy acquired Future Shop in 2001, it chose to keep the Future Shop branding intact rather than immediately converting locations to the Best Buy name.[4] The two brands operated side by side in Canada, with Future Shop stores using red signage and Best Buy locations using blue, a distinction that remained visible even when the two chains shared shopping plazas.[5]
On March 28, 2015, Best Buy announced the dissolution of the Future Shop brand, closing 66 locations and converting the remaining 65 stores to Best Buy locations.[1] The converted stores initially retained Future Shop signage and red branding for a transitional period, with employees wearing Best Buy uniforms and the company given up to 18 months to change the store colors to Best Buy blue.[3][2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The red and white color scheme served as the primary visual distinction between Future Shop and its corporate parent Best Buy, which used blue as its brand color.[2] The brand’s red identity was so closely associated with the chain that when stores reopened under the Best Buy name, the exterior signage and in-store branding still referenced Future Shop and its logo for some time.[6]
Beyond the documented red and white palette, no official source confirms specific symbolic meaning attached to the logo’s colors or design elements. The brand’s visual identity is best understood through its role in distinguishing Future Shop from Best Buy within the Canadian retail market.
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
