Best Buy’s attempt to cross the Atlantic and deliver US-style retailing to British consumers has failed miserably , with the retailer planning to close all of its big box stores in the UK. It may have suffered from bad timing, but its retreat shows that even the most successful retail formats can fail if they do not adapt to changes in their target markets.
Best Buy exited China in 2011, with market failure attributed to the negative impacts of counterfeit markets, pricing, and its big-box retailer format . With its growing middle class and proximity to electronics manufacturers, China represented a huge growth opportunity for Best Buy.
What happened to Best Buy’s UK expansion?
But in the years after the 2008 financial crisis , one part of Best Buy’s recovery plan failed spectacularly: its expansion into the United Kingdom. After just two years, the company closed its 11 big-box stores and exited the country.
Why is best buy bad?
Strong cash flows and attractive quarterly profits may disguise the chain as a winning bet. However, fierce competition from rivals such as Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), and Target (NYSE: TGT) threaten that lead. Best Buy’s biggest problem is that customers are using its stores to comparison-shop — often making purchases elsewhere online .
Best Buy and the Geek Squad has terrible customer service . The Best Buy warranty policies are established to create bureaucracy, frustration, and scam you out of your purchase. At the Cypresswood location, if you call the store in an attempt to speak with a manager the VM states the store no longer accepts phone calls.
Best Buy, a company that I’ve shopped at and admired for years, showed me signs of systemic issues and some truly bad decision making . What the problems are and how to fix the company to make this a “Best Buy” once again., and read on.
Why do you like Best Buy?
To reiterate, I liked (note the past tense) Best Buy, and thus, because I needed to order some things that I could get more conveniently than via Amazon , and I like the Manassas store. I decided to give them some business — ultimately close to $5,000 worth of business in the last week and a half — both at the store and online.
What went wrong with Best Buy?
Best Buy wasn’t visible enough. It attempted to go up against major retailers with exponentially more stores. Dixon’s Retail has 600 stores, and Comet has 250, compared to Best Buy’s mere 11. “The market for electricals is too small in the UK for three major retailers.
You might be thinking “What’s going on with Best Buy?”
My answer is best Buy had huge plans to move into Europe and China . So far, it’s failed in both markets — mainly because consumers don’t like mega stores.
This begs the inquiry “What happened to Best Buy’s CD sales?”
Best Buy was king when DVDS and CDs were all the rage , but it remained stagnant as that market dried up, according to Eric Chen, associate professor of business administration at Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, Conn.