BestBuy going out of business.... Gradually and then all at once says Forbes. (1 Viewer)

[Charles Smith]

[SIZE= 14px]Just what they needed... [/SIZE]

Best Buy Chief Executive Resigns Amid Inquiry
[SIZE= 14px]Brian J. Dunn, chief executive of the electronics retailer [/SIZE]Best Buy[SIZE= 14px], resigned unexpectedly Tuesday during an investigation by the board into what it called his “personal conduct.” [/SIZE][SIZE= 14px]Mr. Dunn’s resignation, less than two weeks after he outlined an ambitious restructuring to revive the struggling store chain, was announced in the morning, with no mention of the investigation.[/SIZE]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/business/dunn-resigns-as-best-buys-chief-executive.html?hp&gwh=A58BAC84E3559F0A99DF03FD3B26F315

 

[Mike Frezon]

They have announced the identities of the 50 BB stores--most of which will be closing May 12:

http://pr.bby.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=244152&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1683036&highlight=

 

[EricSchulz]

No matter what you think of the company, it's sad to hear this....

 

[Charles Smith]

Best Buy Chairman Leaving Early
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/08/business/best-buy-chairman-leaving-early.html?hp&gwh=D35C1E5D3716AFB9EB53A9B77AF0B775

 

[Mike Frezon]

Not just the chairman...but the company's founder.

Sigh. Even when it's about sales, it turns out to be about sex.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I think its a good thing. Based on this thread it sounds like they need the shake-up they are currently going through.

 

[cineMANIAC]

Crisis management consultants, ethics officers, human resources executives, useless employees. It's a wonder these companies stay afloat with such bloated payrolls. I can attest to BB losing business to Amazon (and other online retailers) - I'll ALWAYS find a cheaper deal online than at BB stores. Not to mention the general unpleasantness of shopping there: I went to buy the new Journey 2 Blu-ray on street date. What I find instead are DVD copies and total disarray. Ended up getting it at Target.

 

[Sam Posten]

Yeah, that'll work:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/07/05/best_buy_mimicking_apple_stores_in_retail_makeover.html

 

[Mike Frezon]

The retailer is also planning to have 40 percent of its current workers undergo extensive training in September. New hires at Best Buy will also receive 80 hours of training in an effort to improve service.

That's a good one!

 

[aerialacoustics]

The funny thing is that we are even having this conversation like BestBuy is worth saving vice all the mom and pop shops nationwide they (and other big box retailers like them) killed off...

Amen Sam. We saw Circuit City leave our city and then State, then country. I worked for Kevin, at HiFiSales, in my opinion one of the higher end design, to prewire, to trim-out home theater shops in Arizona and if filed for bankruptcy. Sounds Like Music sold the highest end speakers, amps and prepro's in the Phoenix market and it died. Buzz Jensen's closed it's doors. Jerry's Audio left the car audio side, then focused more on 2-channel. Fry's Electronics and Best Buy still are here, for now mainly because of the custom labor, (installation); which is one thing not offered from Amazon.

 

[Stan]

Seems to me like Best Buy will fail simply because of the "Self fulfilling prophecy" of doom hanging over their heads.
With all the negative publicity, all the doomed to fail scenarios, etc. how tough must it be to work there? They've got to be losing their best talent, even their mediocre people are probably looking elsewhere. If all you hear is bad news about your employers, you'd probably head for the exits.
The more this happens, the more untrained, unskilled people they bring in, making the service even worse. It's almost like a downward spiral towards failure that once it reaches critical level can't be stopped. I don't mean to sound like some conspiracy theorist, but it almost seems like a plan to make them fail. Publish the news reports, the negative stock stories, bad publicity and whatever else goes on behind the scenes and it seems like everything is being manipulated to make them fail.
They're a so-so store and don't have a fatal flaw like Circuit City and their DIVX fiasco, but it just looks like things are not going well because there is someone or some company gradually forcing them to fail.
I'm certainly not a Best Buy fan, but something just doesn't feel right to me, it's as if they're planned failure. Like they're the puppet with somebody else having fun controlling the strings.

 

[Sam Posten]

Well you could parallel them with Yahoo (and I refuse to add the ! to the end of their name on general principle). After years of disappointment Yahoo finally has a new leader that could spark them back to greatness.
But before that there were STILL a lot of smart and motivated people who were quietly doing good work there. Why?
http://www.quora.com/Yahoo/Why-do-people-still-work-at-Yahoo
Some insightful answers.
I'm not saying Mayer IS their white knight but she brings a VERY valuable contingent with her. Hope. Without getting political let me just say that Hope is a VERY powerful instrument, shown in our last election.
Then there is this:
http://dearmarissamayer.com/
Commentary on that:
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/what-the-internet-wants-from-marissa-mayer-in-five-words/259937/
http://sriramk.com/unsolicitedyahoo.html
As tech heads who scour the web for bargains it's easy for us to wonder why people BUY overpriced stuff at Best Buy. That question was asked on Quora as well.
http://www.quora.com/Best-Buy/Why-do-people-still-shop-at-Best-Buy
The best answer? Convenience sometimes trumps price. Is it enough to build a 50 year business on? Good question, that remains to be seen.
Could BBuy hire a highly personable CEO to replace Dunn and reignite them in a way that inspires both Tech Heads and the Joe Six Packs? Hard to say!

 

[Stan]

Sam,
I actually hope somebody does come in and rescue them. They could be turned around into a profitable and pleasant place to shop. Just because you can get it cheaper online doesn't mean you want to wait a week to get something (or pay some hefty FedEx fee). Sometimes you need a good old fashioned brick & mortar place to go where you get what you want today, not next week.
And not to sound racist, but it's nice to actually talk face to face with an American who can help with your problem, not an Indian call center reading scripts. But unless they turn things around fairly quickly, what talent they have left is going to leave.
Can't believe you began your post with Yahoo. Thought they were the dinosaur of the internet. I'd be willing to bet I haven't even typed the word Yahoo in ten years, didn't even know they still existed.

 

[Sam Posten]

I'ma HUGE Flickr Fan. Nobody was more upset when Flickr sold out to Yahoo than me. I have been dying for someone, ANYONE else to buy and make them awesome again.
But it hasn't happened.
If Yahoo could die and Flickr would survive I'd pull the trigger myself =)
But maybe Mayer can do it. Maybe she can make Flickr Awesome with a capital A again. I have hope but not confidence. We will see!
It will also be interesting to see how stores like BBuy react when Amazon goes hyper local and starts doing same day shipping, even if it means they have to collect tax now.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/t/322382/amazon-relents-on-sales-tax-sets-sights-on-same-day-delivery-instead#post_3950661

 

[gene c]

I worked for Webvan back in it's heyday (which lasted about a year and a half) and that was their ultimate goal. To offer everthing under the sun and deliver it the same day it was ordered. One of their many down-falls was trying to do the delivering themselves (which was manitory since their main product was groceries). It will be interesting to see how Walmart, BestBuy and others respond to Amazon. BB must be thinking "now what are we going to do?". Ultimately they will be forced to downsize and re-invent themselves like Radio Shack did.
BTW, I log onto Yahoo! (put the ! there just to tick Sam off a little ) every day. I'm stuck with ATT DSL and they're tied to Yahoo! (there it is again!). But my search engine defaults to Google. Coincidently, I used to make deliveries for Webvan to Google when they were in a single building in Mt View Ca. Should have bought their stock instead of Webvans . Live and learn. Well, live anyway.

 

[Citizen87645]

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/07/20/flickr-responds-to-internet-appeal
I'ma HUGE Flickr Fan. Nobody was more upset when Flickr sold out to Yahoo than me. I have been dying for someone, ANYONE else to buy and make them awesome again.
But it hasn't happened.
If Yahoo could die and Flickr would survive I'd pull the trigger myself =)
But maybe Mayer can do it. Maybe she can make Flickr Awesome with a capital A again. I have hope but not confidence. We will see!
It will also be interesting to see how stores like BBuy react when Amazon goes hyper local and starts doing same day shipping, even if it means they have to collect tax now.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/t/322382/amazon-relents-on-sales-tax-sets-sights-on-same-day-delivery-instead#post_3950661

 

[EricSchulz]

Best Buy founder submits bid to buy the company – USATODAY.com


Bizarre....

 

[Sam Posten]

GD HTF, now your munged links are banned.
STOP EATING LINKS HTF

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten /t/317411/bestbuy-going-out-of-business-gradually-and-then-all-at-once-says-forbes/30#post_3958889
GD HTF, now your munged links are banned.
STOP EATING LINKS HTF

Sam:

Are you having a problem with Eric's link? It's working okay for me.

 

[Charles Smith]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon /t/317411/bestbuy-going-out-of-business-gradually-and-then-all-at-once-says-forbes/30#post_3958894
Are you having a problem with Eric's link? It's working okay for me.

Same here. As far as I can recall, every link ever posted has worked for me, and I've always wondered what Sam is referring to in these instances.