Best Buy - Troubled Waters Ahead...

[MidnightAngel]

Originally Posted by JohnIan

Your comment had me thinking, Duke Nukem. Dead stores.

Circuit City
Sun Coast/FYE
Warehouse
The Good Guys
Sam Goody
Tower Records
Media Play
Boarders
Music Land
The Wow

Any other that's missing?

Nobody Beats The Wiz
Crazy Eddie
Kay Bee Toys
Blockbuster Video?????

Online technology today is creating a tiny hole that later becomes the Black Hole from outer space eating mega stores selling tech goods. If the internet wasn't invented or declared illegal by the Goverment all those stores would already exist.

[JohnIan]

Best Buy should fire all their retail workers, close all their stores, and become solely an internet business.

Some of us prefer to go in person to check out the merchanise before buying it.

- - -

Got back from my store. It's been the talk. The San Bernardino, CA store is doing well. But I did learn of a store treading water, the BB across the street from Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, CA is just breaking even.

I've been there. It's a lame place. Which is a puzzlement, they took over the space that used to belong to Circuit City. Yet everything inside looks so packed in. Their media area is a joke, all the DVD and Blu-Rays are crammed together. If you add a new title, you need to take something out for it to fit. It's pretty much like Moose1132 described it. I've only been there a couple of times, bought nothing.

I say that because when CC was in operation they had a full store and a comfortable amount of room to walk about in (and easy access to media). They were cool. Now that space feels very mismanaged.

- - -

Nobody Beats The Wiz
Crazy Eddie
Kay Bee Toys
Blockbuster Video

Never heard of Nobody Beats The Wiz or Crazy Eddie (the first thing that popped in my head was Crazy Giddon's).

Kay Bee Toys didn't have much of a media area/section, wasn't in the home video market. They did have some DVDs, but just a few and all children flicks. And Blockbuster was primarily a rental shop. They did have titles for sale, but it was dwarfed by BB, CC or Wal-Mart.


Circuit City
Sun Coast/FYE
Warehouse
The Good Guys
Sam Goody
Tower Records
Media Play
Boarders
Music Land
The Wow
Virgin Megastore
Crazy Eddie
Nobody Beats The Wiz

[ilovemovies]

Originally Posted by adamjohnson

Best Buy should fire all their retail workers, close all their stores, and become solely an internet business.

No.

[JohnIan]

Got online late today. Found out about this a few moments ago via StarTribune.

Best Buy CEO Resigns Under Cloud

Wednesday, April 11, 2012
by Thomas Lee

Board of directors committee is looking into "personal conduct."

Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn resigned Tuesday and the company confirmed that it is investigating allegations that he engaged in personal misconduct.

The news stunned investors and industry analysts, who called the accusations a major distraction at a time when Best Buy is trying to fix its ailing stores. Less than two weeks ago, Dunn said that Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer, will close 50 stores nationwide and lay off thousands of workers.

"It's unfortunate that a case of [Dunn's] poor judgment got in the way of Best Buy making progress," said Carol Spieckerman, president of newmarketbuilders, a retail consulting firm. The allegations "are going to be a real hit to the company's credibility."

Best Buy said the board of directors audit committee, normally responsible for overseeing Best Buy's finances, is investigating Dunn's "personal conduct."

"Certain issues were brought to the board's attention regarding Mr. Dunn's personal conduct, unrelated to the company's operations or financial controls, and an audit committee investigation was initiated," the company said in a statement. "Prior to the completion of the investigation, Mr. Dunn chose to resign."

The company disclosed no details about the investigation.

When Best Buy released a statement Tuesday morning announcing Dunn's departure, it made no mention of the investigation, saying only that the company and Dunn parted ways by "mutual agreement." The company later acknowledged the investigation of Dunn in response to a Star Tribune inquiry.

For most of his three years, Dunn has faced criticism from investors over the sinking stock price and sales. The Richfield-based retailer started as a single store in St. Paul in the 1960s and has since grown to about 1,100 U.S. stores with $50 billion in annual sales. But in recent years it has been losing market share to Wal-Mart and online competitors such as Amazon.com.

The company's core market, big-ticket consumer electronics items such as PCs and flat-panel televisions, has been rapidly shrinking as more consumers migrate to the Internet.

Best Buy's struggles have led to speculation that Dunn would lose his job. Yet Dunn continued to call the shots and announced the company's restructuring plan, which aims to slash $800 million in costs over three years, expand more aggressively overseas and open smaller format stores.

"All of the sudden, 13 days later, they can the guy," said Jeremy Brunelli, a retail analyst with Consumer Edge Research. "Something else must have happened."

Best Buy stock fell 6 percent Tuesday, or $1.33, to close at $21.32. Analysts say investors were driving down the price out of fear that Dunn's departure meant company sales were worse than expected. But it turned out, Dunn's personal behavior, not the company's sagging fortunes, led to his exit.

A Fairy-tale Rise

Until now, Dunn's rise had a fairy-tale quality to it -- a hardworking, 28-year Best Buy veteran who rose from the store floor to the executive suite.

Recalling his first days as a store employee, Dunn recently told a leadership conference that he was not impressed with the retailer. "My first day was dreadful," Dunn said. "I hated it. The store manager asked me, 'How do you like what you're doing?' I said, 'I think this place stinks.'"

But Dunn said he grew to love the company, a devotion that eventually caught the eye of founder Richard Schulze.

When former CEO Brad Anderson retired in 2009, Dunn was the only serious candidate, former top executives said.

But Dunn's appointment raised eyebrows among employees and analysts, who said he lacked vision and strategy.

During the next three years, Schulze stuck by his protégé, even as Best Buy's declining stock price eroded the value of Schulze's 19 percent stake.

Despite the criticism, Dunn expressed confidence that he would ultimately succeed by staying the course. "The farther away you get away from being who you are, the more trouble you will get into," Dunn told the leadership conference.

"You have to reward people for being honest and forthright," he said of his leadership style. "Do you understand who you are and what you're good at?"

Looking Ahead

For investors, the key question is who replaces Dunn. The company named board director G. "Mike" Mikan as interim CEO.

Analysts threw out some outside possibilities, including former Best Buy executive and current Advance Auto Parts CEO Darren Jackson and Charles Dunstone, chairman of British retailer Carphone Warehouse, who helped develop the highly successful Best Buy Mobile format.

But Best Buy has a history of hiring from within. The company's three CEOs to date, Schulze, Anderson, and Dunn, were all longtime employees.

Spieckerman of newmarketbuilders said the company needs new blood. Dunn's resignation "gives Best Buy permission to move a different way," Spieckerman said. An outside CEO can restore confidence among investors and customers.

"This is absolutely the turning point for the company," she said. "The window of opportunity [to revive the company] is starting to close. This is a make-or-break moment."

- - -

Saw this link from article, a timeline. Did not know...

Best Buy From The Beginning

1966: Richard Schulze and a business partner found an electronics store called Sound of Music

1969: Sound of Music trades as a publicly held company, has three stores

1978: Sound of Music operates nine stores in Minnesota

1981: A tornado hits Roseville; company responds with "Tornado Sale" which launches its low-price, no-frills retail environment

1983: Company name changes to Best Buy Co. Inc. and it opens first superstore

1985: Best Buy has an initial public offering on Nasdaq and raises $8 million

1989: Best Buy launches non-commissioned warehouse-style retail strategy, introduces Best Buy yellow tag logo

1993: Becomes nation's second-largest consumer electronics retailer

1993: Competitor Highland Superstores Inc. is forced to liquidate

1995: Best Buy debuts in Fortune magazine's annual ranking of 500 largest companies at No. 373

2001: Best Buy acquires Musicland for $685 million

2001: Best Buy goes international, acquires Canada-based Future Shop

2002: Brad Anderson succeeds founder Richard Schulze as CEO

2002: Best Buy acquires computer service company Geek Squad

2003: Moves into new $160 million, 1.5 million-square-foot corporate campus in Richfield

2003: Sells its interest in Musicland

2004: Forbes magazine names Best Buy "Company of the Year"

2006: Best Buy acquires majority interest in Jiangsu Five Star Appliance stores in China

2008: Acquires online music service Napster in October for $121 million

2009: Competitor Circuit City liquidates

2009: Brian Dunn named CEO in June

2011: Best Buy sells Napster in November

2012: Best Buy announces plans to close 50 superstores and lay off hundreds

2012: S&P puts Best Buy's corporate credit rating on watch, in line for possible downgrade to "junk" status

Tuesday: Dunn resigns; G. "Mike" Mikan named interim CEO

Okay. Thoughts? Good news? Bad news?

[Duke Nukem]

With the threat of Best Buy finally losing its battle with DVD's this year, I've been to hell and back with them recently. Gotta go now before it's too late. There is actually two within my area, the closer one I frequent more often. Went to that one two weeks ago, and went to it and the other one just today. Got a ton of older movies to stay in the game:

-an 8-movie Jackie Chan collection ($5) featuring much his re-released/re-packaged work brought to the U.S. ("Operation Condor," "Twin Dragons," and the like)
-a new Jackie Chan movie called Kung Fu Master ($5)
-a boxset with three Vincent Price/Edgar Allen Poe films for $5 (Tales of Terror/The Pit and The Pendulum/The Raven)
-An 1980's extravaganze with "Pretty in Pink/The Breakfast Club/Footloose/Advantures in Babysitting/Splash" rounding out to $40 (Definitely should see and own these by now)
-The A-Team: Season 5 for $10 (just got the first four recently)
-a boxset with 20 Alfred Hitchcock films from 1920's to the `30's ($5)
-Immortal Beloved from 1994 with Gary Oldman playing Beethoven (may have been $10)
-a boxset with Clint Eastwood movies from the 1970's worth $5 (bought it purely for "Play Misty For Me")
-"Where the Wild Things Are" for $5
-Seven DVD player cleaners worth $20 each (have to prepare for the future)

Also from Walmart:

-cheap boxset with Chucky Norris' "Missing in Action" series ($5)
-another cheap boxset with standalone Norror movies worth $5 (bought it purely for "Hero and The Terror")

Upon speaking to the cashiers in Best Buy, they don't seem to have a clue about their company being in trouble. They seem confident that they will continue selling DVD's for a while. Let's hope so.

[hoojib127]

Originally Posted by Duke Nukem

Upon speaking to the cashiers in Best Buy, they don't seem to have a clue about their company being in trouble. They seem confident that they will continue selling DVD's for a while. Let's hope so.

This all seemed kind of out of nowhere to me, too. All the Best Buys in my area seem to be doing fine, as far as I know. Granted, I've come to buy the vast majority of my DVDs/Blu-rays online from Amazon, Deep Discount, and DVD Planet; music-wise, I've gone completely digital, so I don't even buy physical CDs anymore (The Beach Boys' Smile Sessions box set being an exception). So while I hope Best Buy doesn't go the way of Circuit City, I still have most of my bases covered if it does.

[JohnIan]

For now even with the closures, Best Buy will still be in business and selling DVDs.

Unless they pull the crap that Circuit City did with firing their knowledgable work force and replace them with morons. Then move their sales base on the part of the store which was the weakest. Plus - if they fail to pay their vendors.

Then yes, they're screwed.

So far... not yet.

[JohnIan]

The list as posted on CNN Money...

Format; Store Name, Address, City & State:

Casa Grande - 1004 N Promenade Pwy - Casa Grande - AZ
Lake Pleasant - 10134 W Happy Valley Rd - Peoria - AZ
East Palo Alto - 1751 E Bayshore Rd - East Palo Alto - CA
Westwood - 10861 Weyburn Ave - Los Angeles - CA
Manteca - 934 Perimeter Dr - Manteca - CA
Moreno Valley East - 27220 Eucalyptus - Moreno Valley - CA
Ontario - 4120 E 4th St - Ontario - CA
Pittsburg - 4405 Century Blvd - Pittsburg - CA
Jamboree - 2857 Park Ave Tustin - CA
Arapahoe & Parker - 15800 E Briarwood Cir - Aurora - CO
The Forum - 9370 Dynasty Dr - Fort Myers - FL
Oldsmar - 11655 W Hillsborough Ave - Tampa - FL
Fayetteville - 128 Pavilion Pkwy - Fayetteville - GA
Loganville - 4014 Atlanta Hwy - Loganville - GA
Addison - 1038 N Rohlwing Rd - Addison - IL
87th & Dan Ryan - 8900 S Lafayette Ave - Chicago - IL
Deerfield - 200 S Waukegan Rd - Deerfield - IL
Matteson - 4707 Lincoln Mall Dr - Matteson - IL
Mundelein- 1100 N Rt 83 - Mundelein - IL
West Dundee - 979 W Main St - West Dundee - IL
Speedway - 10500 Parallel Pkwy - Kansas City - KS
Back Bay - 360 Newbury St - Boston - MA
Wareham - 2421 Cranberry Hwy - Wareham - MA
Inner Harbor - 600 E Pratt St - Baltimore - MD
Hunt Valley - 118 Shawan Rd - Hunt Valley - MD
Biddeford - 405 Mariner Way - Biddeford - ME
Brooklyn Center - 5925 Earle Brown Dr - Brooklyn Center - MN
Edina - 3200 Southdale Cir - Edina - MN
Hutchinson - 1350 Hwy 15 S - Hutchinson - MN
Lakeville - 18350 Orchard Trl - Lakeville - MN
Rochester South - 4540 Maine Ave Se - Rochester - MN
Rogers - 20870 Rogers Dr - Rogers - MN
Ellisville - 15678 Manchester Rd - Ellisville - MO
Monroe - 3151 W Highway 74 - Monroe - NC
Rocky Mount - 1100 N Wesleyan Blvd - Rocky Mount - NC
Millard - 12210 K Plz - Omaha - NE
East River Plaza - 517 E 117th St - New York - NY
Steelyard Commons - 3506 Steelyard Dr - Cleveland - OH
Salem Mall - 5031 Salem Ave - Dayton - OH
Caguas - Las Americas Expry PR52 Zafiro - Caguas - PR
Middletown - 890 W Main Rd - Middletown - RI
Hickory Hollow - 5255 Hickory Hollow Pkwy - Antioch - TN
Techridge - 12901 North I-35 - Austin - TX
Woodlake Parkway - 6218 Woodglen - San Antonio - TX
Landmark Mall - 5901 Stevenson Ave - Alexandria - VA
Cosner's Corner - 9745 Jefferson Davis Hwy - Fredericksburg - VA
East Richmond - 4410 S Laburnum Ave - Richmond - VA
Mill Plain - 16611 Se Mill Plain Blvd - Vancouver - WA

I'm glad my local store isnt among the list.

How did your's fare?

[AspectRatio1986]

On a sidenote, Best Buys $5 trade & save program is pure gold! Hope ppl are taking advantage of this!

[Duke Nukem]

My two stores are not on the list. Then again, they may stop selling DVD's this year, so big whoop. Whatever happens will happen.

[JohnIan]

may stop selling DVD's this year

What are you talking about?

Are you talking about some stores becoming emaciated to just cell phones and accessories?

[Duke Nukem]

Originally Posted by JohnIan

What are you talking about?

Are you talking about some stores becoming emaciated to just cell phones and accessories?

The article from the March 31st post. The big-block stores being replaced by mobile-only stores. When I first read that, I was under the impression all the stores would go down that road this year and stop selling DVD's. Maybe, maybe not. That's what I can't accept. Other than Barnes & Noble, I need Best Buy. It is the last primary store. They both provide certain, different services for me.