Where Is Future Shop’s Future?

When officials for the Future Shop Ltd. came to a Spokane job fair last week, they hoped to lure talented local salespeople and managers from Spokane to the Puget Sound area, Oregon or Idaho.

Instead, they got few applicants but a lot of questions about when the company would open a Spokane store.

The computer/electronics discounter, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, advertised job openings paying $25,000 to $80,000 - not to mention full healthcare benefits, generous employee discounts and sick pay. At the edge of the ad, smaller letters spelled out the catch: “Now Hiring For: Eugene, Salem, Medford, Seattle, Tacoma, Yakima, Boise.”

A Future Shop recruiter said store recruiters came away with applications from a few would-be transplants.

Long before the ad ran, rumors had percolated that the 13-year-old chain plans to open a store here. Future Shop chief financial officer Gary Patterson confirmed that the company is considering Spokane for either one or two of 50 new stores to open by 1997, but it hasn’t purchased land or signed any contracts, he said.

Although Patterson would not disclose the stores’ potential sites, he said the Future Shop would construct new buildings. One store may open as early as the end of this year, he said.

, DataTimes