Case Title: Best Buy Doing a Turnaround Again

Case Abstract

This case describes how Best Buy, the U.S. consumer electronics company, brought itself back from near collapse. The company, founded in 1966nand named Best Buy in 1983, was hugely successful until about 2012. With $1 billion in sales in 1992, Best Buy seemed golden. The company began to expand into foreign markets beginning with Canada and later China, Mexico, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Then the company's fortunes started to change. Stores were closed across the United States, China, and Europe.

In an effort to stop the downward spiral, Best Buy appointed a new CEO, Hubert Joly, in 2012. Under Joly, the company began a series of strategic changes focusing on the customer, being more environmentally aware, and reducing its global presence. As part of its new strategic initiative, Best Buy promoted omnichannel retailing where it sought to reach customers across a variety of mediums including in a store, online, or via smartphones. Joly's strategy worked, and the company began to turn itself around.

Today, Best Buy sells only in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company has won accolades for its efforts to be more sustainable, and now focuses on building long term relationships with customers rather than single day purchase situations. In 2019, Joly resigned as CEO and was replaced by Corie Barry who has promised to continue the strategies put into action by Joly. Barry claims that now, after a difficult few years, Best Buy is well positioned for future growth.

Discussion Questions

1. Best Buy has had an interesting evolution in an industry (technology and consumer electronics) that has seen drastic changes in the last few decades. Based on this case writeup, how do you expect Best Buy to perform in the next 10 years?

2. The omnichannel approach that Best Buy implemented in 2012 proved to be a winner at the time, and is something all companies these days have to be mindful of. The goal is to reach customers wherever they are: in a store, online, or via their smartphones. Given the omnichannel environment we live in, how would you market Best Buy in the future?

3. In the process of switching CEOs from Hubert Joly to Corie Barry, Joly said that "Stores are a great asset." Joly also said that Best Buy is "well positioned for continued growth well into the future." Do you agree or not? Why?

4. As a starting point before she even took over as CEO, Corie Barry stated that "Today's technology and consumer landscape creates tremendous opportunities for Best Buy to further expand and deepen relationships with our customers and employees, while continuing to deliver shareholder value." What do you read into this statement, and her thinking about what Best Buy needs to do to be successful?