BestBuycom
Best
Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is a
Fortune 100 company and the largest specialty retailer of consumer
electronics in the United States and Canada, accounting for 17% of the
market. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio
Video, and Future Shop in Canada, which together operate over 1150
stores in the United States, Canada and China. The company's corporate
headquarters are located in Richfield, Minnesota, USA (near
Minneapolis).
Bestbuy.com
Scholarship
Best Buy was named "Company of the Year" by Forbes magazine in 2004,
"Specialty Retailer of the Decade" by Discount Store News in 2001,
ranked in the Top 10 of "America's Most Generous Corporations" by Forbes
magazine, and made Fortune Magazine's List of Most Admired Companies in
2006.
Best Buy sells consumer electronics as
well as a wide variety of related merchandise such as computers,
computer software, Video games, music, DVDs, mobile phones, digital and
video cameras, as well as home appliances (washing machines, dryers, and
refrigerators), in a non-commissioned sales environment. Each store also
includes a department for A/V equipment for automobiles, offering
on-site installation services, as well as a Geek Squad "precinct" for
computer repair and warranty service and accidental service plans.
Best Buy building exteriors are usually light brown in color with the
entrance in an area designed to look like a blue box emerging from the
rest of the structure. Older stores have a more utilitarian brick
building without the blue structure.
In April 2005, the company was the first
major retailer to announce the elimination of all mail-in rebates.
As of February 25, 2006, the company operates 742 Best Buy Stores, 20
Magnolia Audio Video Stores (specializing in high-end electronics), and
12 stand-alone Geek Squad operations through its U.S. retail subsidiary.
They also operate 44 Best Buy and 121 Future Shop stores, as well as 5
stand-alone Geek Squad operations in Canada. In 2003, the company opened
its first international global procurement office in Shanghai, and also
operates sourcing offices in Beijing and Shenzhen, primarily to reduce
costs and increase the speed to market by purchasing products directly
from manufacturers. As of 2006, the company began opening lab stores in
China to open an avenue to the Asian market.
With the acquisition of Seattle based Speakeasy, Inc., Best Buy will be
able to offer broadband and VOIP services to small businesses through
their Best Buy for Business unit.
Customer Centricity is the name of a
business movement centered on catering to specific customer needs and
behaviors. Best Buy's concept of customer centricity means configuring
its stores to serve the needs of the particular customer segments that
predominate in the area of that store. Some of the ways that the Best
Buy company transforms its stores for a customer segment, is using
different types of store signage, fixtures, lighting and even uniforms.
One of the things the company has done for some segments is to create a
personal shopping assistant, so that a customer can call and make an
appointment for their shopping trip.
Source: Wikipedia - News Reports
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