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  1. #1
    blax n gunz
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    BEST BUY IMPLODES: Misses Revenue, Firing 400, Closing 50 Stores

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-b...120457157.html

    Electronics retailer Best Buy announced it would close 50 big box locations in the U.S. as it refocuses its operations around mobile.

    The company said it will launch 100 new mobile locations as it retools its domestic store format.

    The announcement was timed with the company's fourth quarter report, where it sharply beat analyst expectations on the bottom line. Over the final quarter of 2011, revenue grew three percent to $16.6 billion while earnings per share hit $2.47.

    However, analysts polled by Bloomberg had forecast top line results of $17.15 billion, some $500 million more than the company reported. The quarter also benefitted from an extra week in the company's fiscal calendar — excluding the week would mean revenue actually fell 1.1 percent. Shares were down 6 percent in the first minutes of trading.

    The company saw same-store sales decline 2.3 percent during the period, highlighting its difficulties as the U.S. economy gained steam during the first few months of 2012. Best Buy saw weakness across the board, with sales suffering in gaming, notebooks, digital imaging and televisions.

    Best Buy has rapidly been trying to turn its operations around as it has seen peers CompUSA and Circuit City fail. Consumers have been using its locations as a testing ground for products before making final purchases at competitors like Amazon and Walmart.

    Acknowledging the change, Best Buy Chief Executive Brian Dunn said the company would vastly alter its strategy from its long time big box format to boost returns.

    "These changes will also help lower our overall cost structure," Dunn said. "We intend to invest some of these cost savings into offering new and improved customer experiences and competitive prices — which will help drive revenue. And, over time, we expect some of the savings will fall to the bottom line."

    Best Buy is targeting more than $800 million in cost savings by 2015, largely expected through layoffs and the aforementioned store closings. The targets are roughly split between corporate, retail and declines in costs of goods sold. The company will layoff 400 employees within its management and support channels.

    The company is betting its future largely on mobile and the commission it is paid by wireless carriers to activate services . By 2016 it hopes to have as many as 800 mobile-only locations, up from 305 today.

    In November, the Richfield, Minnesota, based company bought out Carphone Warehouse's stake in it's U.S. cellular operations for $1.3 billion and said it would close its U.K. big-box locations to focus on smaller mobile outlets.

    Early results from the unit have been promising. Comparable store sales improved 20 percent within Best Buy's mobile division during the fourth quarter while connections revenue increased 13 percent.
    Kind of a shame, it was one of the last few places I could go and look at/touch/play with new hardware before deciding what to buy online :D

  2. #2
    Death by snoo snoo
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    As an employee, this isn't a surprise. To drive out CC and CompUSA, best buy saturated the market with stores. It was good business at the time, but now these stores aren't as profitable and their leases are simply not being renewed.

    400 employees and 50 stores isn't necessarily imploding when there's 1500 stores.

    However, it's going to be hard for most brick and mortar stores to compete with online retailers that have such low overhead because they are able to employ no one and lobby and evade sales taxes. With the people who demand lower prices, there's no profit margin in anything you buy at Best Buy except accessories (high priced HDMI cables). Without these, and cell phones, BB would've gone under a while ago.

    Eventually, the only places you'll be able to shop are at Wal Mart, Amazon and Apple Stores.

  3. #3
    Death by snoo snoo
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    However, the company has been on a steady to sharp decline ever since Brian Dunn took over.

  4. #4
    Member since 2006 and still can't think of a title.
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    Can't have best buy go under till they drive out that shithole Frys.

  5. #5
    The Sig...
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    Its not necessary imploding if they're closing big retail stores that carry a lot of unnecessary shit to open up smaller, more focused stores to move shit that sells well.

    That being said, I still won't shop at Best Buy because of my Amazon Prime membership

  6. #6
    Death by snoo snoo
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    I've always heard Frys was amazing. But that shit doesn't exist outside of the west.

    Probably like In and Out. Hyped to shit but Is ok

  7. #7
    The Sig...
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    @Headspace

    I'm not sure if you live in SoFL or not, but there's a bunch of HH Greggs opening up around here. Its nearly identical to Best Buy, but they really specialize in home theater stuff. Their employees are still sleezy as fuck though

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    To give you an idea about how Frys treats employees, black Friday people had to be in at 10 pm and they clocked everyone out at 4:59 am and back in at 5am to avoid double time. I spent 5 years there and it was by far the worst place to work. I'd flip burgers at McDonald's before I'd take a job at Frys.

  9. #9
    Fuck It, I'm Goin Deep Fan Club President
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    wow..thats fucking lame and illegal sounding lol

  10. #10
    Death by snoo snoo
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ohemgee View Post
    @Headspace

    I'm not sure if you live in SoFL or not, but there's a bunch of HH Greggs opening up around here. Its nearly identical to Best Buy, but they really specialize in home theater stuff. Their employees are still sleezy as fuck though
    They employee people who care more, probably more knowledgeable, because they're commissioned. But they're sleazy as hell, which is by I originally liked BB. There was no pressure to force shit on customers but that's changed, except there's no compensation for it.

    I work in a smaller store. We're not specialized. Just less square footage and labor overhead. We used to be big music, movie, and gaming being 2 miles from a university but the only shit that is profitable anymore is the best buy mobile division.

  11. #11
    blax n gunz
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    Fry's is actually a cool place to shop but it's impossible to get help, so if you don't find what you're looking for you might as well go home.

    My problem is that the 3 locations I can get to near LA are all pretty substantial drives away. So when I go I feel stupid consuming the gasoline. Usually I just pick up a cheap dvd. Sometimes they have fantastic deals on disney DVDs that would otherwise be out of print.

  12. #12
    Member since 2006 and still can't think of a title.
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    The bay area stores are like fucking rent to owns when it comes to computer parts. I remember one time sifting through 15+ Logitech mice before finding one without the dreaded open box sticker. Everything in that store is run like its 1990. When I left they finally upgraded the pcs to penguins with win xp with a novel shell to lock everything out. Before no joke 486 or p90's running dos. The pos has never been updated and was developed in house lol.

  13. #13

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    Go fucking bankrupt already. One of the main/pioneering cancers in the electronics & appliance retail market.

  14. #14
    Jellysaurus Rex
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    well I guess i'll go run out and use my $150 in best buy points tomorrow

  15. #15
    FOR FUCKS' SAKE !!!
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    FUCK FUCK FUCK

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    I've been to just the Seattle Fry's a couple times and I wish we had some in Canada Their $5 Blu-ray sales are epic.

  16. #16
    Spiders are Awesome
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    Best Buy can go hang itself with a $400 A/V cable.

    It's kinda fun to walk in, play with everything, whip out your phone and start scanning barcodes, then pretend to buy the stuff on Amazon in front of the employees, though.

  17. #17
    Ze NinjaSYXX
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    @Headspace

    Do you live in SoFla? If so which best buy do you actually work at? only reason i'm asking is cuz of your dolphins sig. lol

  18. #18
    I Am, Who I Am.
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    And nothing of value was lost.

  19. #19
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    Waiting for their going out of business sales. I missed a Blockbuster Video sale a month back, there's one more I'm waiting for to close though.

    As Headspace said though, the future is Amazon and Walmart. Apple for the suckers of course.

  20. #20
    Death by snoo snoo
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nitsuki View Post
    @Headspace

    Do you live in SoFla? If so which best buy do you actually work at? only reason i'm asking is cuz of your dolphins sig. lol
    SWFL. Fort Myers.

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