Introduction
Best Buy Company Incorporated, better know as Best Buy, is a large US based retailer of consumer electronics and services. Best Buy has a large presence of traditional brick and mortar stores in addition to a large online retail operation on their website. According to Gale Business Insights, Best Buy has recently expanded with new store locations in Europe, Canada, China, and Mexico.
The company was founded in 1966 as the Sound of Music Incorporated; in 1983 the company changed its name and became Best Buy (“Best Buy”, 2014). Many analysts consider the company the largest electronics retailer in the United States. Not only does the company sell consumers electronics like TVs, computers, and stereo equipment, the company also now sells other items such as mobile devices, accessories, software, and appliance. In addition the company has a large offering of services such as custom home theatre design, computer support services, and computer repair. At the present time Best Buy is considered a thriving company which reported $ 42 billion in sales in 2013 (Yahoo), and the company has unlimited growth potential as long as they continue their successful marketing plan and are able to quickly adapt as consumer habits change.
However just a few years ago, Best Buy struggled to compete with online retailers such as Amazon.com as consumer purchasing habits changed and the company was slow to change and adapt to their new online competitors. In addition to
PetSmart is one of the largest specialty pet retailers of service and solutions for the lifetime of pets. More than 1008 stores are open in the United States and Canada that provide pet foods and supplies that are priced reasonably. PetSmart provides all types of services for pets including pet training, pet grooming, pet boarding and adoption services. In addition to providing impressive value PetSmart has the broadest, deepest product range in the industry, including thousands of products exclusive only to PetSmart. Every year PetSmart takes care of the grooming for hundreds of thousands of pets in what PetSmart calls its PetSmart Salons. These animals are groomed and pampered by stylist who have
Best Buy’s History & Main Characters: Best Buy is Minneapolis-based and is North America's leading specialty retailer of consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software and appliances. Throughout Best Buy's 37-year history, the company has maintained the tradition of making life fun and easy for customers and employees, while providing a significant return to partners and investors. It has 80,000 employees and over 550 stores in the U.S., in addition to the brands Best Buy Canada, Future Shop and Magnolia Hi-Fi. Their leadership is led by Dick Schulze, Founder and Chairman, Brad Anderson, Vice Chairman and CEO, Al Lenzmeier, President and COO, and Darren Jackson, Executive Vice
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.
Best Buy is one of the best electronic retailers in the North America and the leading name in the electronics industry. Best Buy has more than 4000 stores within U.S., Mexico, Canada, Turkey and China (Hoffman, 2010). Best Buy practices differentiation strategy by using customer centricity model that provides end-to-end service. Best Buy was first established in 1966. They changed their name from “Sound of Music” to the “Best Buy” in 1983. Globally, Best Buy has made great business by increased market share and acquisitions of companies. They acquired companies like Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales and most recently The Future shop.
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.
1995. Best Buy breaks into Fortunes magazine’s annual ranking of America’s 500 largest corporations, listed at number 373; Best Buy implements the Standard Operation Platform (SOP), developed to support and manage every aspect of the company’s business.
- 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.
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
In 2000, the company decided to launch a website, BestBuy.com. There, customers could shop from the privacy of their homes without ever dealing with sales representatives. The site was a
Richard M. Schulze founded Best Buy with business partner James Wheeler when they opened “Sound of Music,” an audio specialty store located in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1966. In 1967 Sound of Music acquired Kencraft Hi-Fi Company and Bergo Company, which led to a second and third store opening near the University of Minnesota and in downtown Minneapolis. The Sound of Music ended its first year with gross sales of $173,000(USD). In 1969 Sound of Music stock was first traded as a publicly held company and in 1970 they hit the $1 million mark in annual revenues. In 1983, Sound of Music’s board of directors approved a new corporate name: Best Buy Co., Inc. The name resembled its marketing strategy: Whatever the product, it
Best Buy has been successful with their web presence; they have found another outlet for customers to purchase products from Best Buy.
It makes sense for Best Buy to worry more about Wal-Mart, which is getting more involved in electronics retailing, and less about Circuit City. The competitors are a diverse lot today, and for them to continue to grow they're going to have to get much better at everything they do and define themselves in clear ways. Best Buy's plan is to revamp its stores according to the types of customers they serve. A strategy previously mentioned, customer centricity, focuses on targeting five prototypical customers, all of whom have been given names: "Jill," a busy suburban mom; "Buzz," a focused, active younger male; "Ray," a family man who likes his technology practical; "BB4B" (short for Best Buy for Business), a small professional employer; and "Barry," an affluent professional male who's likely to drop tens of thousands of dollars on a home theater system. Their most current focus is on a "Jill" based store, the soccer mom who has money to spend but typically hasn't a clue of where or how to find products in the store. According to the data Best Buy has collected, Jill shops a few times a year, usually twice at an electronics store, but she usually spends a significant amount.