Best buy Case Analysis case #2
ABSTRACT
Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services operating in both domestic and international markets, including Canada, China, Europe and Mexico. With headquarters in Minnesota, Best Buy has more than 1,050 domestic locations and more than 165,000 employees (Best Buy Co., Inc., 2013). It is the largest consumer electronics retailer with a market capitalization of $9.18 billion and revenues over $50 billion in 2012 (Best Buy Co., Inc., 2013; Yahoo! Inc., 2013).
Recently evolving external industry conditions, as well as changes in Best Buy’s internal environment have presented new challenges for its leaders. The company’s growth, profitability, relevance,
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Inc., 2013). Best Buy now faces very high rivalry from retailers outside the electronics store industry. These large competitors, offering identical products with little to no switching costs, have forced aggressive competitive activity in the marketplace. As a result, competition is especially concerned with online presence, pricing wars, and customer service.
According to Yahoo! Finance, Best Buy direct competitors include Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The successfulness of a company depends on the products it offers in terms of the product’s quality and the value pricing. Consumers are driven to find products of the most quality that can be obtained at the lowest pricing structure. As of late, Wal-Mart has achieved an effective strategy of offering goods at very low prices; a strategy that is wreaking havoc on the profit margin of other competitors in the markets.
A key measuring in comparing these companies’ stock values and assessing the functioning results is the operating margin figure. Whereas Best Buy’s operating margin of 0.02% is not as good as Wal-Mart’s 0.06% nor as bleak as Amazon’s 0.01%, it is by no means close to Apple’s 0.31% (Yahoo! Inc., 2013). The following table includes the operating margin
Like any successful business, Best Buy has to be on the cutting edge to succeed in today’s market. They do this by exploring what technologies and services other companies display all around the world. Best Buy also pays attention to the changing of times, realizing what’s dated and what is on the cutting edge.
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 the largest electronics retailer in United States with international presence in Mexico, Canada and China. Best Buy Co., Inc. is headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota and currently operates more than one thousand brick & mortar stores. Founded in 1966 as “Sound of Music”, Best Buy Co., Inc. evolved from a small regional audio specialty store to a multinational consumer electronics retail chain within a short span of time. The company’s current name “Best Buy” was adopted in 1983 with an aim to emphasize a greater consumer electronics branding. Best Buy Co., Inc. went public in 1987 when it got listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
A host of internal and external factors plays an important role in the organizational structure and process. The opportunities for Best Buy are economies of scale, targeting new market segmentation and global expansion. Strong competition, growth in online sales and the new developments in government regulation are the threat for the Best Buy. Competitions in the electronics industry are based on several factors such as price, quality, durability, product features, customer preferences and warranties. With the advancement in the ecommerce and internet, Best Buy acquired many internet
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.
Global competition has a direct impact on Wal-Mart. Global companies offer competition for consumer business and companies within the United States and other countries who compete with Wal-Mart. The global competition for consumer business primarily takes place in the e-commerce domain that Wal-Mart dominates. Wal-Mart offers their consumers a convenient one-stop website with all the merchandise and products offered in the store, and some that are not. The exchange is significantly sped up by the convenience and availability of the internet. The internet allows transactions to take place at a faster pace than the standard face-to-face or telephone method. Target, a major competitor of Wal-Mart, also has a Website that is reached by consumers all over the world. This added competition, especially from a competitor in the same industry, forces Wal-Mart to keep their prices low while offering
- Best Buy tap on the reputation of Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Company because it is the largest retailers of consumer electronics and appliances in China.
Best Buy is electronic retailer that has brand names under 11 brand names in the United States. The company also has services in Canada, China, Europe and Mexico. It specializes in selling technology and entertainment products and services. The company became successful by using a low cost strategy and high cost customer service practices. The company has a lead market position because of its differentiation strategy, its brand names that are reputable and the many series of acquisitions.
Best Buy Co., Inc. is currently the world’s largest retailer for consumer electronics. The company has 1,400 brick and mortar stores and is a popular online retailer as well. The stores serve as display room for various online retailers. Best Buy consumers can purchase electronic products such as mobile, corded and cordless phones, televisions, cameras, personal computers, laptops, appliances and more (David & F.R., 2015). Today’s society relies on convenience and technology, forcing companies to implement new ideas and projects in an effort to maintain their ability to compete with other companies. For continued success the company must look at the internal and external issues the company may face as well as their competitors and their best practices that are contributing to their success.
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 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
Best Buy Inc. has built a reputation as a ground-breaking retail giant. It is known as one of the first “big box” stores in
Internationally, Best Buy has different product lines located in nine European countries. The Carphone Warehouse and The Phone House stores employ sales associates that provide independent advice on the best service and hardware suited to each customer. Their goal is to have the customer leave the store with a fully active phone and a service contract.
Intensity of rivalry among competitive firms. In the past, Staples has been successful in fighting against its competitors with its low prices and brand loyalty, but recently against Amazon there are bigger obstacles to overcome. The rivalry with Amazon, Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs is intense as they have more resources to use against Staples, such as the range of its customers and a thriving business line. Therefore, seeing that the rivalry is intense, it presents a threat to their profitability (Hill et al., 2015, p. 51). From this perspective, the competitive rivalry will be considered as high for Staples.
Best Buy is a company that is a financially strong and profitable, that has generated a good few billion in cash flows from operating activities as is shown in its financial statements. They also delivered positive operating income through their trajectory. They grew total market share in the third quarter according to the most recent public data available. They have closed down certain operations that were not profitable (according to recent reports), which they expect to have a positive impact on their earnings going forward. And they are focusing the company on areas where they see the greatest opportunities for growth and profit: mobile devices and connection plans; enhanced digital and e-commerce strategies; growth in their services business; and expansion of their established business in China.