...Best Buy SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis is for Best Buy. Best Buy is an electronics and appliance retailing company that specializes in consumer electronics, home-office products, entertainment software, and household appliances. It is one of the largest specialty retailers in the United States, serving a diverse customer base. Best Buy’s current competitors include specialty home-office retailers (Staples, Office Depot); retail discounters (Wal-Mart); wholesale clubs (Costco, Sam’s Club); and online competitors (Amazon, Circuit City). Strengths * Revenue of $16.26 Billion and profit of $651 million in 2011 * Operate more than 1,150 stores in the U.S. and abroad * Retail class leader based on customer satisfaction surveys * Leading U.S. retailer in computers, televisions, tablets, and cameras * Implementation of green initiatives to reduce electronic waste Weaknesses * Initially established image as a lower quality retailer * Impact of class action lawsuit settlement in 2011 * Previously neglected niche market for higher end products Opportunities * Purchase of Carphone Warehouse Group interest (U.S. / Canada) * Growth in sales of mobile phones and tablets * Improving inventory management through long-term relationship with suppliers * Further expansion of chain by opening “mobile” stores * Increasing availability of higher end merchandise Threats * Online competitors * Pressure from competitors to reduce prices * Rising labor wages * Current economic...
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...Summary: Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) was established in 1966 and since it inception has become one of the largest specialty retailers in the United States. Best Buy is a multinational electronics and appliance retailing company, specializing in consumer electronics, household appliances, software, and home-office products. Best Buy employs nearly 170,000 people with over 1,400 locations. Strengths • Physical Stores • No. 1 electronics retailer • Knowledgeable personnel • Smart acquisitions Weaknesses • Physical stores • Reorganizations diluting customer service experience Opportunities • Growing online demand • Private Branding • Mobile broadband (phones, tablets) Threats • Intense online competition • Local discount retailers • Constrained credit availability Strengths: Physical Stores – One of Best Buy’s biggest strengths is also one of its biggest weaknesses – it’s physical stores. “Brick and mortar is where every dimension of the brand comes alive for us to see, feel, smell, touch, taste, and hear. The store does what technology cannot — allows us the full usage of our senses.” (Excerpt from the article ‘Let’s Not Forget the Store: Why Brick and Mortar Still Matter in a Multichannel World’, 2012). No. 1 Electronics Retailer – Best Buy Co, Inc. is the largest consumer electronics retailers in the US holding 20% market share in 2011 and is ranked no. 5 on Interbrands Best Retail Brands 2012. (Interbrand.com, 2012) Knowledgeable Personnel...
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...Best Buy 47 of Fortune’s 500 Constance Bartram MGT 521 April 16, 2012 Louise Stelma A mutual fund manager looking to invest in Best Buy would want to know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). This provides information concerning the health and stability of Best Buy. Conducting a SWOT analysis shows if the company is implementing strategies gained from a SWOT analysis. This can reveal Best Buy’s future existence and success. The mutual fund manager also needs to identify the external and internal stakeholders and how Best Buy meets the wants and needs of the stakeholders. SWOT The strengths of Best Buy include high brand recognition, affordable prices, special offers, convenient locations, and a strong online presence. Best Buy is large enough to afford marketing so that it can use prime time television and radio spots to reach its potential customers. The weaknesses of Best Buy range from impersonal customer service to costs of maintaining huge warehouses and stores. This year already Best Buy lost 1.7 billion. Recently Best Buy announced it is closing 50 of its stores and is planning to open smaller stores and work on a stronger online presence. This will help them avoid what happened to Circuit City and also help compete with Amazon (USA Today, 2012). Potential opportunities are new gadgets and electronics with the latest digital cameras, cell phones, video games, and new television models becoming more popular. If Best...
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...Ghoreishi Best Buy: Strategic Audit June 8, 2015 Current Performance: Best Buy’s historical advantage has always been pricing. However, now that other specialty electronics retailers have dropped out of the market with the fall of Tweeter and Circuit City, Best Buy now must compete with discount retailers such as Kmart, Wal-Mart, Target, Sam’s Club, Costco, as well as online retailers like Amazon. Consumers no longer have to go to Best Buy to purchase DVDs because buyers can get them through dozens of online sellers or stream them online via NetFlix or Amazon. You can buy a Blu-ray player or camera at a discount online. Televisions and appliances are the two products Best Buy sells that many people are less likely to purchase online because of their size and prohibitive shipping costs. If Best Buy wants to continue to be the number one seller of electronics and electronics related accessories such as games, DVD's, and electronic wiring, Best Buy needs to focus on shoring up television and appliance dominance to ensure sufficient foot traffic. Best Buy must also address the phenomenon of 'show rooming', which is the practice of shopping for merchandise in a brick-and-mortar store and later buying online at lower prices. In the past, Best Buy has provided only one week training sessions for new hires. However, as a first step to prevent show rooming, Best Buy will provide...
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...Best Buy MGT/521 - MANAGEMENT BUSINESS Description Best Buy or BBY is one of the leading developers of technology products and technology services. Best Buy is broken down into two segments; domestic and international, and works under a variety of names. In the domestic region there is Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and Geek Squad. The international regions include; Canada, China, Mexico and Europe and use the brand names; Best Buy, Cell Shop, Best Buy Mobile, Five Star, Future Shop, Connect Pro, Geek Squad, The Carphone Warehouse, Geek Squad, and The Phone House. (Reuters, 2012) Best Buy stores currently make their money in six categories: • Consumer Electronics – Video products like TVs, DVD and Blu-ray players. Audio products like MP3 players, home theater audio systems and components, • Entertainment – Video games, DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, and computer software, • Services – Installation from home theater and mobile audio, warranties, and repair, • Computing and Mobile Phones – Laptops, desktops, tablets, and printers, • Appliances – Major and small appliances, Other – Snacks and beverages History To understand the history of Best Buy, one would have to know the history of its founder, Richard M. Schulze. Mr. Schulze and a partner started Sound of Music, Inc. in 1966 with their first store in St. Paul, Minnesota. Four years later Schulze bought out his partner and decided to expand. His first step to expand came in 1982...
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...Best Buy Annual Report Project Summary and Conclusions 1. Company’s Performance: Profitability: (Gross Margin, Profit Margin, Return on assets, Return on shareholder’s equity, Return on Market Equity) * In recent years , Best Buy Co., Inc. has seen revenues shrink from $50705M USD to $45085 USD, and the company‘s net income from $1317USD to -441M USD. * Activity: * Poor Inventory Management * Total assets turnover is 2.99 in 2013, total assets management of the company is seems higher than Store competitors Radioshack, hhgregg , Aaron’s, Inc. * Inventory Turnover is turn down year to year 7.19 to 6.08 * Low Account Receivable Turnover ratio implies, the company should re-assess its credit policies in order to ensure the timely collection of imparted credit that is not earning interest for the company.(2009 to 2013 recespectvely;37.35 to 19.62) Solvency: Liquidity Enhanced Quick Ratio: The amounts of cash equivalents at February 2, 2013, and March 3, 2012, were $740 million and $343 million, respectively, * Declining Liquidity Cash Flows: Goodwill Impairment, Restructuring Charges, Interest Expenses, Loss from Discontinued Operations, Net Earnings from non controlling interest Increasing label of inventory year after year (more investment on inventory) 2. Company’s Strength/Doing well and Improving Areas: * Geek Squad expertise and knowledge, * Total assets management, assets turnover is improved continuously since...
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...ADMIN 404 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Assignment one Best Buy Co. Inc : Sustainable Customer Centricity Model? Executive Summary Best Buy is a multinational retailer of consumer electronics. It operates as a retail store and online operations under several brand names in multiple countries, USA, Canada, Mexico, China and Europe. In Canada it operates under Future shop and Best buy names, offering in five revenue categories: Consumer electronics, Computing and Mobile phones, Entertainment, Services and other. Best buy’s mission is to become the leading multi-channel retailer by serving their customers and making a meaningful difference in their lives. Introduction and company overview Incorporated in Minnesota USA in 1966 as Sound of Music, Inc., Best Buy today is a multi-national, multi-channel retailer of technology products, including tablets, computers, televisions, mobile phones, large and small appliances, digital imaging and related accessories. It employs approximately 140,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees worldwide, it offers to its employees company-paid, full benefits that vary from location to location. Best buy’s success relies on the design and execution of appropriate business strategies. Best buy’s current strategy includes transformational change to many areas of business including online and in-store customer experience, employee-engagement, partnership with vendors and cost control, these strategies were adopted since 2012 as a result...
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...Best Buy- Circuit City Case-17% 1. Be an informed consumer evaluate where the replacement of highly paid workers with lower paid worker did or did not cause Circuit city to perform so poorly. How confident are you in your evaluation? Why? In evaluating whether or not the replacement of highly paid workers with lower –paid worker at Circuit City caused them to perform poorly I found several factors that lead me to believe this to be true. Circuit City started off being the number one retailer of electronics. It was faced with competition from Best Buy and other large retailers such as Wal-Mart. Circuit City was forced with making changes within the company to keep their position within the market that they didn’t take. In 2003 Circuit city announced the layoff of 3900 workers, following this announcement opening stock price from 2001 to 2003 declined significantly. Also, in 2007 Circuit City fired 3,400 of the highest paid store employees at that same time their customer satisfaction index declined. Circuit City’s compensation strategy was in direct correlation to the business tactic, it rewarded its knowledgeable top performers. Circuit City never considered that by eliminating top earning sales people for less experienced sales people that it would have an indirect effect on the company as a whole. No longer to do they employ skilled and knowledgeable professionals whom customers relied on. Ultimately, managing total compensation strategically means fitting the compensation...
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...[pic] Group 6 RU Consulting, L.L.C Nick Morgan Laura Pynn Jennie Ramberg Brenna O’ Regan James Morrison Tweeter, etc. is an audio/video company that faced pricing strategy problems in 1993 that made the history books for adverse pricing strategies. Sandy Bloomberg formed the company in 1972 and the company faired well in the 1970’s and 1980’s. It grew to 13 stores when they implemented the Automatic Price Protection pricing strategy. This strategy nearly drove the company into bankruptcy. The company still faces unremitting problems which this paper will address. This is our proposal as RU Consulting, L.L.C. First, we will examine how the company evolved. Second, an analysis of the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and their threats will be considered and an analysis of their corporate strategies will be given. Third, we have included our solutions and recommendations for this company. Last, we would like to give our recommendation to you as the stockholder on what you should do with the stock you are holding. Tweeter started out as a small retailer of high-end audio/video equipment right outside of Boston University. This store was a success and soon expanded into 13 stores through out New England. [1] It began to get a reputation for its excellent service and quality products and sales soared. However, in the late 1980’s, the...
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...[pic] Group 6 RU Consulting, L.L.C Nick Morgan Laura Pynn Jennie Ramberg Brenna O’ Regan James Morrison Tweeter, etc. is an audio/video company that faced pricing strategy problems in 1993 that made the history books for adverse pricing strategies. Sandy Bloomberg formed the company in 1972 and the company faired well in the 1970’s and 1980’s. It grew to 13 stores when they implemented the Automatic Price Protection pricing strategy. This strategy nearly drove the company into bankruptcy. The company still faces unremitting problems which this paper will address. This is our proposal as RU Consulting, L.L.C. First, we will examine how the company evolved. Second, an analysis of the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and their threats will be considered and an analysis of their corporate strategies will be given. Third, we have included our solutions and recommendations for this company. Last, we would like to give our recommendation to you as the stockholder on what you should do with the stock you are holding. Tweeter started out as a small retailer of high-end audio/video equipment right outside of Boston University. This store was a success and soon expanded into 13 stores through out New England. [1] It began to get a reputation for its excellent service and quality products and sales soared. However, in the late 1980’s, the...
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...balance. Alan Wurtzel who is the son of Circuit City founder Sam Wurtzel outlined in his book “Good to Great to Gone” that he believe the CEOs that preceded him did a poor job with adjusting to change. Best buy on the other hand has faced the same issues in the market and still came up on top because their leadership, though ever changing, had kept the same syntax for the leadership model. They did not try and change the makeup of the company and were better able to cope with the external factors of change because of that. The purpose of both the companies is the same; to sell electronic goods to the customer. Best Buy and Circuit City were ranked 2nd and 3rd biggest big box retailers in the US for electronic goods with Wal-Mart being number 1. Both Best Buy and Circuit City also were in the service sector as well since they provided installation, troubleshooting, and repair services. The structure for Circuit City was very hierarchical. For example from personal opinion I remember when I use to go to Circuit City and ask for something in particular, the representative would point me in the direction of another representative that was supposed to be in charge of the area, even if that person was already fielding questions and concerns from other patrons. At Best Buy when a representative doesn’t know the details because they are from another section of the store they wait with you and make sure that someone who knows what they are talking about gets to you. If everyone...
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...Best Buy Research Part III Team B RES351 September 6, 2012 Dr. Bill Business Research Best Buy Co, Inc. SWOT Analysis; Feb2012, p1-12, 12p Company Report 2012 Bernoff J. (April, 09, 2012). Proof that Facebook fans are worth more to brands. Retrieved August, 4, 2012 from, http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/strategy/ Best Buy Research Design In today’s market a company in the retail business has to be able to adapt quickly and efficiently to be able to grow with the every changing world of electronic goods. Best Buy is no exception to this, and in the recent it has shown how unprepared this company has been in this area. For years now the company has seen a decline in sales, and as well as profits. While the company has implemented several strategies as how to increase profitability, but still online retailers remain a strong competitor for Best Buy and its subsidiaries worldwide. So as Best Buy goes through a restructure process of its operations, maybe there are questions that should be asked, variables to be considered, hypothesis to research on, and above all if this is all being done ethically to bring Best Buy to where it use to be in profits and revenues. One of Best Buy’s strengths is that they are one of the largest specialty electronic retailers with a strong track record of sustaining downturns and they have a strong supporting infrastructure (SWOT Analysis 2012). Their potential weaknesses however, are that recalls...
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...Executive Summary Best Buy Co.,Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics corporation, the company was founded by Richard M. Schulze and Gary Smoliak in 1966. Globally, with over 100,000 employees, Best Buy was named “Company of the year” by Forbes magazine in 2004. The company achieved its early success by using low cost strategy. As a leading company in the consumer electronic retail industry, Best Buy understands the importance of high quality customer service. The company’s lead market position is attributed to its differentiation strategy, reputable brand name, and series of acquisition. The external analysis indicates that the highest competitive force in the company is the internal rivalry and risk of new competitor to enter into the market. The performance of Best Buy and other competitors in the consumer electronic retail industry really depends on macro environmental factors. The biggest threat that most industries in the global market are facing, is the threat caused by the current economic situation. The internal analysis indicates that strength of the company is their reputable brand name, size, and market presence. Best Buy built its reputation by offering consumer high quality service and new shopping experience. The company expands its business into different market through series of acquisition. The company’s biggest weakness is that company have too much long term debt , which could damage investor’s trust on the company’s performance. ...
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...Best Buy Corporation - S. Bensen, A. El Haddi, K. Fitzsimmons, A. Hussein, H. Marotske -- UST EMBA [1] “Best Buy Corporation: Strategic Management Analysis” S. Bensen, A. El Haddi, K. Fitzsimmons, A. Hussein, H. Marotske Strategic Management University of St Thomas, College of Business Executive MBA program, Cohort 62 Abstract Best Buy’s news coverage of the last few years has been consistently negative. The company’s performance and reputation suffered greatly. Its Earnings per Share fell by more than 200% in 2012 alone. These negative events were the result of governance problems, a changing market landscape (cloud computing, music streaming, online purchasing, online gaming, etc.) and a significant leadership turnover in a period of crisis. The company’s value stream is in a state of flux and could be said to be a master of none at this time. This paper presents strategies to deal with these problems by creating a strategic road map that will first stabilize Best Buy and eventually put it on a growth path. As a result of our analysis, we recommend that the company employs new strategies that include growing its online business by capitalizing on Geek- Squad’s expertise and exploring an internal fix-it strategy with the development of a compelling mission and vision. Finally, we recommend that BB explore the formation of an alliance with its rivals and leverage opportunities presented by new markets. 1. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to examine Best...
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...Case Study Analysis Best Buy Co., Inc: Sustainable Customer Centricity Model November 13, 2012 Best Buy is the largest national electronics chain and the only one that remains since the closing of Circuit City in 2009 and Comp USA before that. Founded in St Paul, Minnesota in 1966 as the Sound of Music Store, it was rebranded as Best Buy in 1983 with a single flagship store in Burnsville, Minnesota. By 1993, Best Buy had become the United States second-largest consumer electronics retailer, breaking into Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of top 500 companies two years later at number 373. A partnership with Microsoft in 1999 help to boost the company’s profile and lead to the opening of its first retail store in Shanghai which was followed by stores in Canada, Mexico, Turkey, and nine European countries (Lowe, 2008 May 8). Best currently operates 1,105 big box stores in the United States. In addition to personal computers, computer equipment, and consumer video and audio products, Best Buy outlets, which are on average 44,000 square feet in size, also offer large and small appliances, and entertainment software that includes DVD’s, compact discs, video games, and computer software (Funding Universe, n.d.). Best Buy’s subsidiaries include Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and in Canada, it operates under both the Best Buy and Future Shop labels. Best Buy differentiates itself from its closest competitors, Walmart and Amazon.com, by not...
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