03-30-2012, 09:14 PM | #1 |
doofus
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Best Buy closes 50 stores
http://online.wsj.com/article/SBB000...427071212.html
The B&M electronics stores are just not viable any more it seems. You can point out a lot of problems in BB business practices, like lousy sales reps and up selling warranties and unnecessary services, but the bottom line is BB just cannot continue to provide free show rooms for tax free, lower overhead e-tailers like Amazon. What's going to happen here? Maybe in the future each company has to open its own stores, like Apple does -- Sony stores, Samsung stores, etc. or maybe future BBs will just charge you for looking at products and waive the fee if you buy from them. |
03-30-2012, 10:15 PM | #2 |
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03-30-2012, 11:48 PM | #3 |
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I know at least two of the ones closing in my area are older (one is the first ever Best Buy store) smaller stores with bigger more modern ones quite close by.
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03-31-2012, 01:37 AM | #4 |
Is that a sandwich?
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I always thought it strange they sold appliances.
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03-31-2012, 11:47 AM | #5 |
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COMPUSA
Circuit City Best Buy ... and then there were none. |
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03-31-2012, 01:39 PM | #6 |
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I'm surprised its only 50
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03-31-2012, 01:42 PM | #7 |
Wizard
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I think the eventual model will be showrooms with product shipped from warehouses.
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03-31-2012, 02:02 PM | #8 | |
Wizard
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03-31-2012, 06:11 PM | #9 |
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I think it is more about big box stores than brick and mortar. I shop for computer equipment at a brick and mortar computer store. It's a pretty no-nonsense computer store, it isn't flashy, but they have a good selection and their prices are good. They don't try to make it into an "experience".
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03-31-2012, 08:48 PM | #10 | |
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Best Buy to Open 100 New Mobile Stores
The other half of this story that hasn't been mentioned yet is that Best Buy will also be opening 100 new Best Buy Mobile stores. Quote:
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03-31-2012, 09:11 PM | #11 |
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Except (the new) CompUSA is in growth mode.
http://www.compusa.com/retailstores/compusaStores/ The ones near me are making money hand over fist. |
03-31-2012, 10:45 PM | #12 | |
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04-01-2012, 12:48 AM | #13 | |
Wizard
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Quote:
The original CompUSA is dead and long gone. Tiger Direct bought the name and maybe the customer list and has been slowly adding retail stores. Last edited by bgalbrecht; 04-01-2012 at 12:50 AM. |
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04-01-2012, 12:51 AM | #14 |
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The trick is to do the things that are an advantage for a local presence and not to do things that are an advantage for an internet presence. Simple, huh .
In my blog, a few weeks ago, I suggested that B&M retailers actually convert to showrooms. Kind of a combination of the suggestions of wizwor and the quote that carpetmojo excerpted. I won't try to repost the entire blog here, but if you are really bored and want the details, it's here: http://blogs.8chs.com/2012/01/rethin...ng-bricks.html Specifically, in regard to Best Buy's announcement, the part that is often overlooked is that they also plan to increase their emphasis on service. Think Geek Squad/Genius Bar. This is definitely something that needs a hands-on, local approach. I know its popular to complain about the geek squad, and I don't think I will ever need them. However, the population is quite a bit larger than those of us on these message boards. When my mom or dad really mess up their computer to the extent that I can't run logmein, I send them to the geek squad since we don't live nearby. I think that a store that specializes in handholding, selling accessories, and other stuff makes a lot of sense in a local format. I also blogged about this service aspect of the Best Buy announcement in a recent post. However, the blog post doesn't add anything significant to my comments above. But if your a real masochist, you can read the post here: http://blogs.8chs.com/2012/03/best-b...ght-track.html |
04-01-2012, 03:03 AM | #15 |
Basculocolpic
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The IKEAnization of retail.
Go Sweden! |
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