Best Buy Analysis

Best Buy Co., Inc. is a multinational company in the United States and it deals, with consumer electronics, and accounts 19% of the business. The company also operates in Mexico, Puerto Rico, China, and Canada. Some of the subsidiaries of the company include CinemaNow, Geek Squad, Pacific Sales, and Magnolia Audio Video and operates in both Future Shop label, and Best Buy in Canada. Best Buy Co. Inc and its subsidiaries operate more than 1,150 stores internationally and domestically. The company also operates more than 100 “ZoomShops” or Buy Express Automated retail Stores, operated by the Zoom Systems, in both malls and airports in the entire country of the U.S. The company is headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota, U.S (Scott,

Best Buy Co., Inc. is organized as a Richfield, Minnesota, based US Corporation and operates a multi-business unit structure. Company’s Board of directors consists of nine members with a Chairman and CEO and eight directors. Best Buy Co., Inc.’s operations consists of seven departments whose heads are directly responsible to the Chairman / CEO. The current organizational chart of the Best Buy Co., Inc. is as

Best Buy is a multinational retailer of consumer electronics, computing and mobile phone products, entertainment products, appliances, and related services. The company operates retail stores and call centers and conducts online retail operations under a variety of brand names such as Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, The Carphone Warehouse, Five Star, Future Shop, Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and The Phone House (Bestbuy.com, 4). The domestic segment consists of all operations within the United States, while the international segment includes all operations in Canada, Europe, Mexico, and China. The Best Buy 's success is contingent on the market 's demand for electronics. The company 's strategy is to provide good customer service combined with lower prices (news.cnet.com). Best Buy 's success is directly related to economic conditions, the cost of goods, and other things like fuel prices. The company 's strategy depends upon the ability to offer customers a broad selection of name-brand products; therefore, leading its success to depend upon satisfactory supplier relationships (Bestbuy.com, 8). Best Buy, as it is included in the retail segment, is a seasonal store. Their stronger quarter is the fourth quarter, which they can contribute to the holiday season for their success.

Furthermore, Best Buy’s rapid expansion(s) did brought with it, usual high debt levels and uncommon low profit margins that eventually forcing Best Buy (the firm) into slowing down the firm’s expansion and reconsidering few-to-some of its low-cost strategy or strategies.

A man named Richard M. Schulze and his partner started Best Buy in 1966. The original store was called “Sound of Music” which was an electronics store that specialized in stereo systems. In 1967, Sound of Music purchased Bergo Company and Kencraft Hi-Fi and pulled in about $1 million in revenue. In 1969, Schulze took his partners half and decided to become a public company on the NASDAQ exchange. What started as a single store in Saint Paul, Minnesota became a chain of nine stores by 1978. In the 1980’s, Sound of Music was left with seven stores because of unfortunate accidents caused by a tornado. In 1983, Sound of Music was renamed to Best Buy Company. Along side changing the name of the company they also decided to expand on business by selling other at home appliances such as VCRs.

The (RCC) / VC model is used to determine how Best Buy bundled its resources to create capabilities and how these capabilities become the company’s core competencies which will be their source of competitive advantage.

Originating as a single Hi-Fi Stereo retail store, financed by personal saving and a second mortgage on a family home, in Midwest America, Mega Buy found early success. By 1967, only one year after opening its doors, Mega Buy began the acquisition of local competitors as it sought to increase its share of a growing industry. That year the company exceeded $1 million in total sales and over $58,000 in profits. By 1969 the operation consisted of three separate stores. That same year the company became publically held on the NASDAQ exchange. Originally named, The Music Place, the company adopted the new name, when in 1981, with a total of nine stores, a tornado ripped the roof off of the largest and most profitable store. Incredibly the vast majority

Best Buy and Walmart use the ecommerce to support their retail shops and both companies do not sell second hand goods.

In terms of future directions the company is taking, in February of 2001, Best Buy embarked on its most advantageous venture by the acquisition of the Musicland Corporation which owns stores such as Sam Goody Music, Suncoast Video, and Media play. This acquisition will help to give Best Buy the edge in the electronic and entertainment sales field. Best Buy obtained over 1300 stores from the Musicland Corporation. Richard Schulze's press release said it all when he discussed where the company was headed with the newly acquired stores. "We

In 2002 Best Buy opened 8 new stores In Toronto, this was to expand the company into Canada. While all this was happening, Schulze turned over his CEO job to Vice-Chairman Brad Anderson. Anderson also was the president and chief operating officer since 1991 and was with the company since 1973. Schulze remained involved with the company he created as chairman and he was still the largest shareholder owning nearly 17 percent. Best Buy opened many stores around the world, and in 2003 they had more than 600 stores around the world. Their store sales increased 7.1 percent in 2004 making their revenue rise 17 percent, reaching $25 billion, and a net income of $705 million.

These changes were necessary with the growing instability in Europe and with the ever changing economy in China so in the meantime “Best Buy has decided to explore more profitable growth options for the Best Buy brand in these markets, including the option to reopen two of the closed stores in China at a later date”.()

The eighties prompted change as well as the opening of Best Buy's first superstore. During 1983, a new corporate name was approved and the Sound of Music Company became known as Best Buy Co., Inc. With mounting consumer support Best Buy continued its road to expansion by opening an additional

The consumer electronics giant, Best Buy, was first established in 1966 with a single location and a staff of three in St. Paul, Minnesota, selling audio equipment targeted at 18-25 year old males. Initially Sound of Music/Best Buy grew through acquisition, expanding to nine locations in the Twin Cities area by 1978. The name, Best Buy, and expanded product line, ranging from audio and video equipment to large appliances, were a result of a “best buy” sale of damaged inventory at bargain prices in 1981. In the mid-1980s, Best Buy launched superstores similar to those of their main competitor, Circuit City and expanded by 15 stores between 1985-86. In 1989, Best Buy launched itself as a

According to Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L, Best Buy is the world’s largest consumer electronics retailer, with $34.2 billion in sales in fiscal 2009. Thanks to its expansion and risk decision, Best Buy was able to increase sales. One example is putting staff on salary instead of commission pay. With this decision, the results created a friendlier atmosphere and low-pressure shopping. Moreover, Best Buy faced new competition like Costco and Walmart. What made Best Buy distinguished from the new competitors was the implementation of a selling product services. Focusing on providing customer services, and offering personal services like installation and at-home delivery.

Best Buy is the largest North American consumer electronics and appliance retail store. Beneath the direction of Brad Anderson, the CEO in 2006, Best Buy experienced some of its hardest times. There were countless forces and factors that contributed to the difficulty faced by Best Buy. The first major problem to be pointed out is that Best Buy is losing immense market share to Amazon, which had led to a practice of “showrooming” (Best Buy, 10). This term means customers are coming to view the product at Best Buy, and then proceeding to buy them online at a cheaper price. Resulting in these competitive prices taking away sales from Best Buy.