BRISTOL, Va. – The Geek Squad is coming to town.
A 25,000-square-foot Best Buy store is slated to open Friday in The Highlands, a retail center on Lee Highway near Interstate 81’s Exit 7. In addition to sales and customer service employees, the staff includes a group of trained technicians – called the Geek Squad – to help make computers, home theater systems and other consumer electronics work better, said Mike McMasters, general manager of the new Bristol location.
"We have the coolest gadgets and the latest gear. We carry home theater, televisions, appliances, computers, have a huge gaming department, movies and music," McMasters said Wednesday. "The Geek Squad is our secret weapon. It’s our name for the folks who provide a lot of service and make that stuff easy to use. They unlock the complexities of technology and unlock the potential of high-definition TV or computers."
The store is scheduled to open to the public from 1-9 p.m. on Friday and grand-opening ceremonies are set for 10 a.m. Saturday. During the ceremony, store employees are scheduled to present a $10,000 check to People Inc.
The consumer electronics retailer with its familiar blue and yellow colors joins a center that already includes Target, Books-A-Million, PetSmart, T.J. Maxx and Ross Dress For Less.
The store will employ 70 full- and part-time employees who’ve had extensive customer service training, McMasters said.
"We want the store to have a hometown feeling. We will carry local music and employ local people – not just this big corporation. We want people to be comfortable coming in here and hanging out with us," he said.
Store Operations Manager John Wright, a Bristol native, said although he’s a new employee, he is quite familiar with the company.
"I like toys. I’ve spent hours in Best Buy just looking. Now I get paid to look," Wright said.
The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
It is one of eight Best Buy stores from across the nation set to hold grand-opening ceremonies this weekend.
Best Buy, based in Minneapolis, Minn., now operates 1,200 stores in the U.S., Canada and China.
The opening also heralds a second wave of development in the retail center, said Phil Martin with developer NewtonOldacreMcDonald.
"With Maurice’s and Dress Barn, those pads have been delivered to the retailers and those two stores will open in the next few weeks," Martin said.
The Nashville-based firm also plans to develop four out-parcels along Lee Highway, but those contracts have yet to be signed, Martin said.
dmcgee@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2532
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement