Ultimate Electronics will open its first Western New York store in Cheektowaga this fall.

The Colorado-based consumer electronics chain will occupy space at 2001 Walden Ave., formerly a Wegmans supermarket, which has been vacant since 2006.

The arrival of the big box store will increase competition among electronics retailers, which has lagged since bankrupt Circuit City went out of business last year, leaving Best Buy the dominant standalone electronics superstore in the region.

While Ultimate Electronics is often compared to competitor Best Buy because it carries computers, music, games, televisions, car audio and home theater equipment, the chain also carries household appliances, high-end audio and video equipment, living room furniture, billiard tables and kitchen cabinets.

The new store will be in a highly visible, high-traffic location, next to the Thruway and across the street from the region’s largest mall, Walden Galleria. Other tenants in the 209,199-square-foot plaza include Burlington Coat Factory, Jared jewelry store, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones BBQ and Fuddruckers.

It will occupy just 34,000 square feet of the 104,000 square feet for-

merly filled by Wegmans, giving it a store that is roughly the same size as the one Circuit City closed last year in Hamburg. The additional 70,000 square feet in the former Wegmans store is still up for lease.

Ultimate Electronics took on a major expansion effort in 2010, with plans to open 20 new stores and enter new markets in Massachusetts, Texas, New York, New Hampshire and California. The company has two other New York in Albany and Syracuse, but this its first Western New York location. No other Western New York locations are currently in the works.

The retailer has taken advantage of demand left in the market by bankrupt chain Circuit City, even moving its new stores into former Circuit City store space. Ultimate Electronics currently has about 45 locations in 16 states.

The company was founded in 1968 by Bill and Barb Pearse in Colorado. It was purchased by Hollywood Video founder Mark Wattles in 2005, who named the founders’ son Jim Pearse company president.

In April, Best Buy sued Ultimate Electronics after the company advertised claims it could guarantee lower prices than its competitors. Ultimate Electronics pulled the ads, and Best Buy dropped the suit.

schristmann@buffnews.comnull