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Best Buy Express (Formerly RadioShack Canada and The Source) is an electronics store that operates in Canada. Their locations are primarily found in enclosed shopping centres and shopping plazas.
History[]
RadioShack Canada[]
The Source's history goes back to RadioShack. In 1970, RadioShack opened their first Canadian location in Toronto, ON. In 1986, Tandy Corporation, owners of RadioShack, sold their Canadian operations to InterTAN. As part of the agreement, InterTAN was allowed to continue using the RadioShack name.
The Source by Circuit City store
in 2004, Circuit City wanted to move into the Canadian market. To do this, they bought InterTAN. Soon after the deal went through, RadioShack filed a lawsuit against InterTAN, they did this because they thought that InterTAN had breached their contract by selling off the company. The court ruled in RadioShack's' favor, and InterTAN / Circuit City was no longer allowed to use the RadioShack name.
The Source by Circuit City[]
Because Circuit City was no longer allowed to use the RadioShack name, they rebranded all of the stores to "The Source by Circuit City." This rebrand was complete by the end of 2005, they also replaced the RadioShack store brands with their own; such as Nexxtech and Vital.
In 2007, following the continuing struggles of Circuit City, 62 under-performing "The Source" stores were permanently closed.
In 2008, Circuit City filed for bankruptcy and closed all of their American Circuit City locations, The Source by Circuit City locations continued to be run until 2009 when they were sold to Bell Canada.
The Source[]
When The Source by Circuit City was sold off, some changes were made. The name was rebranded to just "The Source" and Bell Canada products such as Internet and cable services started to be sold within stores. This replaced Rogers Wireless products which were previously sold at The Source.
The Source continued be be run over the next decade and a half without too much change, throughout the years, some underperforming stores were permanently closed and stores were closed within malls that had done the same.
A Best Buy express store
Best Buy Express[]
In January 2024, Bell Canada entered a partnership with Best Buy. With this deal, The Source would be rebranded to Best Buy Express. Although, the stores will continue to sell Bell Canada products. Out of the 300 The Source locations, 167 locations will be rebranded to Best Buy Express, and the rest will be permanently closed. This rebrand will be complete by the end of 2024, marking the end for The Source. The first Best Buy Express location was rebranded in June 2024, with more currently in the process of rebranding across Western Canada, Ontario and the Maritimes.
As of October 2024, all stores are rebranded except for select locations in Ontario and Quebec.
See Also[]
- Circuit City - Former parent company
- RadioShack - predecessor to The Source / Best Buy Express