EXPANDING THE MARKET FOR BEST BUY

Julie Gilbert, senior vice president at Best Buy, recognized an opportunity. Women were showing a growing interest in shopping for electronics. That shift was due in part to the introduction of entertainment systems and flat screen televisions that attracted the attention of women shoppers. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, women now influenced 57 percent of the $140 billion annual electronics purchases made in the United States.

Best Buy stores were often seen as unappealing, even hostile, to women. Noted one female shopper, "I avoid Best Buy like the plague. I find it difficult to get the attention of an employee, and then they seem to be somewhat terse. They rarely have offered options or helpful advice. If I really need something from there and I can't find it elsewhere, I send my husband." Other women reported a preference for shopping on the Internet for electronics.

Given Best Buy's origins, its appeal to male shoppers was hardly surprising. The company began in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1966 and catered to young male consumers. As the business expanded, that focus remained unchanged. "Our stores used to have one primary customer in mind," agreed current CEO Brad Anderson. "That was the young, technosavvy male."

It was Julie Gilbert who noticed both the problem and the opportunity. In 2005, she calculated that of the $90 billion annual purchases in the U.S. market influenced by women, Best Buy accounted for $10 billion. Not bad, she thought, but Best Buy could do much better. Gilbert also knew that return and exchange rates were 60 percent lower on purchases when couples were involved in a purchase than when they were made by men alone. Furthermore, couples tended to buy higher end (and higher margin) products than did men when shopping alone. Gilbert saw an opportunity to expand Best Buy's market dominance by claiming a larger share of womeninfluenced purchases.

But how?

Some of the changes were relatively simple. "We were a boy's toy store designed for boys by boys," noted Gilbert. Stores were to be retooled. Out went the loud music and stacks of electronic components. Personal shopping assistants were added, living rooms were set up to display home entertainment systems, and aisles were widened to accommodate children and baby strollers. Although it would take time and money to implement these changes in the chain's 700 plus stores, there was little resistance to the ideas.

The more difficult challenges involved people alignment. The first step required identifying new behaviors for the sales people, known in the company as "blue shirts": greeting and making eye contact with women shoppers, asking her about her favorite movies, demonstrating those movies on systems. But simply identifying helpful new behaviors would be insufficient. Gilbert felt that for Best Buy to take full advantage of this under-served market, the company would have to place more women employees on the store floors and more women in executive positions.

Blue shirts had typically been recruited from the electronics departments of rival chains such as WalMart and Target. Now, Gilbert began looking at a broader spectrum of retail outlets including Victoria's Secret (women's lingerie) and Origins (makeup). "We're working with the Girl Scouts, with private female colleges, and others to recruit amazing women so we can delight our women customers," said Gilbert. The goal was for 50 percent of Best Buy's workforce to be women, with a disproportionate number working in the home theater departments.

Gilbert's 50 percent goal applied to more than just the Blue Shirts. Aiming to change the role of women in the entire organization, she focused on the management and executive level as well. She created and led "WoLF" packs, for Women's Leadership Forum. Women from all levels of the organization came together to share ideas and generate innovations designed to expand the customer base. The WoLF packs also made it easier for Best Buy to recruit and retain women employees. When Gilbert left Best Buy in 2009 to promote WoLF pacts in other organizations (through a private consulting firm, WOLF Means Business), Best Buy had grown its women's influenced purchases by 30 percent.

Key Learning Point of Case:

The case discusses the need to engage in people alignment as part of successful change initiatives.

Analyzing the Case:

1. What did Julie Gilbert attempt to change at Best Buy and why?

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2. What were some of the changes Best Buy made to attract more women?

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3. What was Gilbert's strategy and plan for implementing people alignment changes?

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4. Describe Gilbert's approach to recruiting more women "blue shirts."