Best Buy to close 50 big-box stores in restructuring plan

[vulgar_newcomer]

Good for them.
As they moved out quality products and reduced what quality they sold replaced by their house brand and other cheap junk. This goes in all categories from Hi-Fi to TV
They want to cater to a field of technology idiots and the limberdick/sagging tit demographic.
Then they want you to spend hundreds at the geek squad for simple shit they should be doing to booster their customer relations.

But most importantly how they rip the average sucker off for a HDMI Dynex cable for 50 or 70 bills.

Always a shabby operation compared to Circuit City or CompUSA (tiger direct is goofy too).

What took this so long?


ORLANDO --

Electronics giant Best Buy will close 50 of its big-box stores and lay off 400 people as part of a restructuring plan to stem revenue losses.

Best Buy announced Thursday that the company lost $1.7 billion in the quarter that ended March 3. By comparison, last year they earned $651 million.

The company has not announced which stores will close, but the closures will happen within the next year, and the layoffs in the corporate and support areas will happen by 2015.

Best Buy blames the losses on the success of online retailers, particularly Amazon. Best Buy says it has expanded its online store, but it is struggling to compete.

Best Buy will also be testing a new store format, called a "connected store" format. The company also plans to open another 100 US Best Buy Mobil stores in the next year. There are currently 305 stores in the US, and the company expects to have about 600 to 800 stores by fiscal year 2016.

Best Buy is also hoping to bring in more customers by expanding the benefits in the Reward Zone Silver loyalty program. Best Buy says that program accounts for a big percentage of the company's profits. They will also be implementing a new plan to get increase good customer service, including new financial incentives for employees.

http://pr.bby.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=244152&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1678082&highlight=

 

[maxpowr9]

I don't like seeing people laid off from work but Best Buy is a dinosaur to say the least.

Unless I need something "now", I would not shop at Best Buy. Yes, the running joke that Best Buy is the showroom for Amazon is sadly true. When I was looking at TVs this past year, I went to Best Buy and then I purchased it off Amazon for about $150 less. If there was a price-matching program at Best Buy, I would probably shop there more despite the sales tax which is foregone on Amazon (plus 2-day free shipping for me as a prime member). However, there isn't and that price markup is what will doom Best Buy to cover the cost of "brick and mortar". Even for my mobile needs, I will still head to a Verizon outlet.

I should add also that I am a Best Buy "silver member".

 

[Ninja108]

As you said Max,that's all Best Buy is these days. A reminder that the stuff they're selling can be bought for cheaper prices in other stores/online sites.

 

[JB3]

Meh. 50 stores is a drop in the bucket for a company that has 1,400.

 

[Joshua_me]

Meh. 50 stores is a drop in the bucket for a company that has 1,400.

"Meh" right back at cha....

Best Buy is well on it's way to becoming a "Radio Shack"

Electronics for the elderly and other people who don't know any better.

Even in their "glory days", their staff was filled with teenagers that didn't know a HDMI cable from an extension cord.

Yes, I feel bad for the people that will lose their jobs, but it's a classic case of a company not keeping up with the times.

When a 52-inch Panasonic Plasma is $200.00 cheaper online with free shipping, what do you think I'm going to do ?

They rested on their laurels and failed to keep up with today's market.

See ya, "Best" Buy.

 

[JayHawk]

:O

I still buy things there BUT I always make sure it is a good price by knowing what it is I am after before I go to Best Buy.

That said computers and TV's I wont buy there. I often wonder who these companies think their market is???


My gym sells a Motorola MotoACTV work out computer // GPS // MP3 player for like 345, online it is 200 and at Best buy it is 299.00.... That is a hell of a savings and it is delivered to my door...

 

[JB3]

"Meh" right back at cha....

Best Buy is well on it's way to becoming a "Radio Shack"

Electronics for the elderly and other people who don't know any better.

Even in their "glory days", their staff was filled with teenagers that didn't know a HDMI cable from an extension cord.

Yes, I feel bad for the people that will lose their jobs, but it's a classic case of a company not keeping up with the times.

When a 52-inch Panasonic Plasma is $200.00 cheaper online with free shipping, what do you think I'm going to do ?

They rested on their laurels and failed to keep up with today's market.

See ya, "Best" Buy.

Ha, you're digging their grave a fair bit early. They still sell more than Amazon, and people are more inclined to buy big-ticket items in person than online. Best Buy isn't closing these stores because they're doing poorly, they're closing them because they are trying out some different store models. (which is a regular occurrence in retail)

 

[JB3]

:O

I still buy things there BUT I always make sure it is a good price by knowing what it is I am after before I go to Best Buy.

That said computers and TV's I wont buy there. I often wonder who these companies think their market is???


My gym sells a Motorola MotoACTV work out computer // GPS // MP3 player for like 345, online it is 200 and at Best buy it is 299.00.... That is a hell of a savings and it is delivered to my door...

The $299 is for the 16gb version. The $200 is for the 8gb version. (my store sells them for $249, but with a coupon you can get it for $200)

 

[Someguy5]

Ha, you're digging their grave a fair bit early. They still sell more than Amazon, and people are more inclined to buy big-ticket items in person than online. Best Buy isn't closing these stores because they're doing poorly, they're closing them because they are trying out some different store models. (which is a regular occurrence in retail)

All they are doing is closing 50 large low profit stores and opening a bunch of smaller stores in shopping malls. BestBuy is not going anywhere. There are a lot of people who do not like to do internet purchases and people who want to see the item before they purchase it. It is easier to return an item to a store then ship it to Amazon.

I only purchase at BB items that I need now and I price the item against other stores before purchasing it. I admit that I do occasionally "test" an item at BB and buy it online cheaper elsewhere.

Unless they learn to treat their customers better, they are going to continue to loose customers. I don't know how many times other customers asked me for help in the store regarding items because the idiot BB employees were nowhere to be found. I have watched many customers leave in frustration because they couldn't get help.

 

[Joshua_me]

they sold replaced by their house brand

There seem to be TWO "house brands" in Best Buy.

One is "Dynex" (sp ?) that is to be avoided at all costs. I swear, if you sit in your car in the parking lot for 10 min. you can see one Dynex product after the next being brought back into the store.

The other is "Insignia" ( sp ? again ?) which is significantly of better quality.

Apparently, LG, Samsung and other more "trusted brands" make the same product and just relabel it under the Insignia brand.

It's sort of like what Sears did "back in the day", labeling products made by other manufacturers and then branded it with the "Kenmore" label.

Either way, Best Buy has been "weaselly" for a long time, now. In their employee training, they have a term called "dream customer", which refers to a customer that walks into the store, (usually elderly) that has little to no idea of the current technology and will believe whatever you say, and purchase most anything you try to sell them.

I still overhear this going on to this day in that store.

Basically, they will reap what they have sown.

 

[JB3]

There seem to be TWO "house brands" in Best Buy.

One is "Dynex" (sp ?) that is to be avoided at all costs. I swear, if you sit in your car in the parking lot for 10 min. you can see one Dynex product after the next being brought back into the store.

The other is "Insignia" ( sp ? again ?) which is significantly of better quality.

Apparently, LG, Samsung and other more "trusted brands" make the same product and just relabel it under the Insignia brand.

It's sort of like what Sears did "back in the day", labeling products made by other manufacturers and then branded it with the "Kenmore" label.

Either way, Best Buy has been "weaselly" for a long time, now. In their employee training, they have a term called "dream customer", which refers to a customer that walks into the store, (usually elderly) that has little to no idea of the current technology and will believe whatever you say, and purchase most anything you try to sell them.

I still overhear this going on to this day in that store.

Basically, they will reap what they have sown.

Uhh, you just described what every retail store on the planet looks for and does.