When Best Buy, the leading American consumer electronics retailer planned to expand its operations

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.

In recent years, Best Buy Co., Inc. has stretched its grasp to the international retail technology industry. Acquisition of Canada’s largest existing consumer electronics retailer, Future Shop, spearheaded the international expansion in early 2001. This paved the path for the official launch of the Best Buy’s independent label, Redline Entertainment. Within the Canadian sector two separate superstores exist, Best Buy (Canada) and Future Shop, both of which target a broad costumer base. Understanding the recognition and loyalty amongst Canadian consumers, Best Buy has continued the use of the Future Shop named superstores. Since the acquisition of the Future Shop, Best Buy Co. has expanded the Future Shop locations to its status of 114 stores across Canada. In addition to Future Shop stores, Canadian Best Buy stores have continued to expand within the past three years; numbering 30 to date.

in this crowded, post-big-box, digital-retail world would not be easy, but it was the only way for Best Buy to avoid

Best Buy’s mission is to provide a consumer electronic “superstore” that is able to satisfy various needs of the customer. Their acquisition of many brands with different focuses, such as Magnolia Audio Video, Geek Squad, and Speakeasy, show the diverse nature of the companies that Best Buy owns. The companies are then generally combined into one store front to create the

Best Buy started advertising they would match Walmart’s price. At one point, Walmart was running just five percent behind Best Buy and appeared to be hitting their target market as planned. Best Buy had big plans for China and Europe. However, they failed in both markets because the consumers did not like “Big Box” stores. As of 2011, Best Buy closed all their stores in China and merged with Five Star who sells cheaper products`. I believe Best Buy made a good choice due to what their target market desired. China Market Research Group, pointed to a few things: the Chinese won't pay for such expensive products unless they're a brand like Apple; there's too much piracy in the market which reduces demand for electronics products at a fair market price (Groth, 2011). The Europeans and Chinese do not want large, destination

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

Joly did wait. He hung in and continued with his plan. Finally, in the third quarter of 2014 things began to change (Seitz, 2014). For the first time in 10 quarters, Best Buy actually showed a .6% rise in sales (Seitz, 2014). This may not seem like much to get excited about, but for a company that had been in such a steep and constant decline it was like Christmas came early.

stronger demand for its products. It also has marketing expertise that it applies to each store. It

China’s consumer electronics market is similar to the early markets in the U.S. They put a huge priority and focus on products and prices. Having an ever-growing middle class, China represented an incredibly profitable opportunity for Best Buy. Eventually, Best Buy extended into the Chinese market in 2006, after three years of studying and identifying the market, by taking a majority stake in Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co., a local retail chain, for $180 million. Operations started with opening and introducing “branded” stores. These are the stores that mimicked the American style layout (very large). In addition, they made sure they had the most knowledgeable associates and did not offer any type of commission, just like in America. Best Buy had envisioned a huge return from entering into the International scene, but the expected surge of customers, never seem to come to fruition. After being open for six years, they only occupied a 1.8% share of the market. Eventually Best Buy shut down all “branded” stores in 2011.

Rewards: I didn’t find much on a rewards or incentives for the merger only that it would rank them third in retail companies. This may be an area in which the company lacked, and may have pushed them to the verge of closing now.

Best Buy was ahead of all the competitors in its industry. With changing consumer buying preferences and new competitors entering the market, the industry is becoming more competitive and the company is facing threats. Consumers are shifting their shopping preferences towards online shopping more and more each day. The company’s direct competitor is online retailer Amazon.com. The number of people visiting the store is decreasing as more people are comparing prices and purchasing online (La Monica, 2014).

Best Buy is a multinational retailer that sells both products and services through three primary channels: about 1,500 retail stores, online, and call centers. It sells consumer electronics and a variety of related merchandise, including software, video games, music, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, mobile phones, digital cameras, car stereos and video cameras, in addition to home appliances (washing machines, dryers, and refrigerators), in a non-commissioned sales environment (Hoovers, 2013). It has also branded store banners that include Best Buy, Best Buy Express, Best Buy Mobile, Five Star, Future Shop, Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, and Pacific Sales.

The passage of NAFTA represented an enticing opportunity for Walmart to capitalize on the discount store industry, of which only Zellers and K-Mart had a presence in.   NAFTA also paved the road for Walmart’s expansion into Canada. The agreement had the intention of creating job and economic growth as well as eliminating tariffs and controls on goods transported amongst the three countries. This phenomenon of internationalization created openness and capability for Walmart to capitalize on goods production in one country, followed by movement and sales in the other.

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.