As an analog company in an increasingly digital world, Best Buy hasn’t been able to adapt to the changing retail environment. The company has reported a drop in net income of 45 percent from the same period last year.
The company has reduced its shelf space dedicated to entertainment media such as DVDs and Blu-rays in favor of other items, but that doesn’t seem to have stanched the flow of red ink.
Best Buy CFO Sharon McCollam said the following about her company’s performance and prognosis, which doesn’t look good:
“Industry-wide sales are continuing to decline in many of the consumer electronics categories in which we compete . . . Therefore, absent any change in these declining industry trends and with limited visibility to new product launch quantities, we continue to expect comparable sales to decline in the low-single digits in both the third and fourth quarters.”
When its competing with streamers such as Netflix and online media retailers such as Amazon, is there any hope for an old-fashioned B&M store like Best Buy?
[via Home Media Magazine]
Best But can still save itself. But it will need a very big turn around. And will need to think outside the box to do it.
They do have some good stuff. But the price. Well that is one big draw back.
They can’t go head to head with Amazon, Target, are China Mart.
One thing I do see about Best Buy. They sell TV’s and a few other things that Target and China Mart don’t carry.
Why. The price. I did buy my 55″ LED TV years back at Best buy. $2,400 and it still is going strong. Target and China Mart did not have it. To much for them.
Face it. You get what you pay for.
Yes I get things at Target and China Mart. But when it comes to TV’s I hit Best Buy first.
They can but I really don’t like their chances. Amazon and walmart are eating up their DVD and Blu Ray sales.
Amazon, walmart and gamestop are eating up their video game sales
They need to dump the DVD/Blu Rays completely. Focus on tvs, appliances, tablets, computers etc. The “hardware” not the software so to say.
It looks like they are doing so here in Riverside Ca. The Best Buy near me has very little DVD’s About a year back I could find just about every thing I was looking for as DVD’s and Blu Rays go. Now. About 80% of them are gone.
And getting down to about nothing.
TV’s Cell phones, Computers, A Ton of them..
You tell’em Dano. I always look forward to your insightful posts. Something different and new each time. keep up the good work.
Quote from above:
“As an analog company in an increasingly digital world, Best Buy …”
What is “an analog” company, Shane? If that is taken from someone else’s writings, wouldn’t it be good to exercise some good judgment? It was barely tolerable when transmission-based video was called “digital” and it was somehow opposed to physical media, but now calling the latter “analog” is a plain travesty. The content (video, audio or anything else) on a DVD or Blu-ray is no more “analog” than the one carried over a network. The main difference between the two is in their persistence, but the proponents of “everything streamed” certainty aren’t going to call it that as it makes obvious the disadvantages of streaming: its volatility.
Shane is using an METAPHOR [or maybe an ANALOGY? I forget which]…
Online=Digital
Offline=Analog
Online/Digital pennies… Offline/Analog dollars.
Sorry, Best Buy is the next Blockbuster. The days of the specialty retailer are numbered.
One more thing Best Buy could do.
They could do the Amazon number…
Online only!
Just a thought!
But as people are saying..
There day’s are about up. Unless they do something. And do it now.
Excellent idea, Dano. I wish I had thought of it.
I pretty much only went to Best Buy for Blu-ray deals and now I buy almost everything digital so I haven’t really gone there the past year. I feel like the other items are ok to shop for rarely but it was the regular new stuff that got me browsing the store. I think with media changing they need to step up the training of staff so that they can offer an in person experience you can’t get from a website for product knowledge.
I go to Best Buy for all major electronic purchases…easier to return if they’re faulty. I’ve always shopped at Best Buy, but usually not for DVDs or Blu-Rays, which I rent most of the time. However, I have noticed that Best Buy’s pre-order 3D blu-rays are as cheap or cheaper than Amazon most of the time. I have pre-ordered from Best Buy, and have bought my last two TVs from Best Buy. It’s too bad they might not be around….I guess there’s always Fry’s.