The Future of Best Buy

Project ManagerMitch Goebel

Team MembersMayra Gomez, Matthew Cruz, Marie Holada, Alix Gilmore, Jacob

Hostetler

October 25, 2012

Table of Contents• ABOUT BEST BUY 3• BUSINESS MODEL ASSESSMENT

– COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES 4– MAJOR WEAKNESSES 5

• 5-YEAR FINANCIAL SUMMARY 6– Q2 2013– Q3 2013

• Q2 FY 12 REVENUE MIX 7• PERSONAL SUMMARIES 8• ANALYSIS

– SME QUOTES 10• RECOMMENDATIONS 14• WORKS CITED 15

2

About Best Buy

• Best Buy Company, Inc. was founded in 1966 under the name Sound of Music by Richard Schulz and took the name Best Buy in 1983

• Headquarters is located in Richfield, Minnesota• Current CEO is Hubert Joly• Largest electronics retailer in the United States

with over 1,200 stores• Brands: Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Pacific Sales,

Magnolia Audio Video, Geek Squad

3

Business Model Assessment:Competitive Advantages

• 92.7% of recent customers had a positive shopping experience; there is a very large, happy consumer base.

• Customers are able to interact with products first-hand and ask associates questions at the many store locations.

4

Business Model Assessment:Major Weaknesses

• Best Buy has many more overhead and other expenses than online competitors.

• Constant evolutions in technology make it difficult for Best Buy to keep up and profit on products with highly fluctuating prices.

• The company’s strategies failed in foreign markets.• Best Buy has failed to keep up with online sales.• Customers use Best Buy as a “showroom.”

5

5-Year Financial Summary

6

Q2 FY 2013 Review Mix

7

Personal Summaries

• Mitch– Best Buy must reduce overhead costs or go out of business.– If Best Buy does not change they will be driven out of business by online

competition.• Marie

– #EPIC– #FAIL

• Alix:– I believe the best option for Best Buy is to restructure and focus more on

offering technological expertise as well as good customer service.– However, this option does not guarantee Best Buy’s survival, and I believe

they will eventually go out of business.

8

Personal Summaries (cont.)• Matthew

– The most attractive options for Best Buy’s future are privatization and corporate turn-around.

– Neither of these options is likely to succeed. Schulze’s bid is actively being blocked by the board of directors, and a major component of the restructuring (price-matching strategy) will actually cause more harm than benefit.

• Jacob– In my opinion, Best Buy will end up restructuring by taking extreme cost-cutting

measures such as layoffs and massive store closings.– Long term, it is too late for Best Buy to rectify the current situation to remain the

largest electronics retailer; they will either go out of business or succeed as a smaller retailer.

• Mayra– Best Buy needs to reduce the square footage of its stores.– Best Buy can survive if it can match the prices of online competitors such as

Amazon.9

SME Quotes

Go Private!

• 7/19 Recommendations• “For Best Buy’s board, we advise them to accept

Schulze’s offer.” – Saibus Research, Seeking Alpha

10

SME Quotes (cont.)

Restructure!

• 8/19 Recommendations• 2 subject matter experts mention that though

restructuring is necessary, the price matching against its competitors is unfeasible.

11

SME Quotes (cont.)

Bankruptcy!

• 2/19 Recommendations• “There is no reason for a dedicated specialty

retailer selling commodity products, and that is exactly what Best Buy is.” – Michael Pachter, Wedbush

12

SME Quotes (cont.)

Merge!

• 3/19 Recommendations• “This has led to some to believe that Best Buy,

with its depressed shares, is a takeover candidate for Amazon.” – Benzinga Insights, Forbes

13

14

Recommendation• It is the opinion of Team Beta that the best options for Best Buy to prolong

its life are to accept Richard Schulze’s bid to take the company private as well as to continue Best Buy’s current plan for restructuring, with one notation.– The notation Team Beta must make is that price matching, which will increase

revenue in the short-term, may ultimately reduce Best Buy’s profit margins by an amount that will prove to be a loss. Furthermore, price matching with competitors like Amazon and Walmart, who are in a more financially stable position, could provoke a disastrous price war.

• The restructuring would allow Best Buy to eliminate certain overhead costs, such as the costs of excessive real estate.

• However, this solution alone is not enough. Team Beta feels that going private will “buy some time” for Best Buy to turn its business model around. Privatization will allow Best Buy to make some tough decisions without dealing with public backlash from excessive scrutiny that all public companies must endure. Additionally, privatization will allow Best Buy to avoid Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements which apply only to public companies (the “best interest” regulations for private companies still apply).14

Works Cited• "Analysts Take Skeptical View of Best Buy." Bloomberg Businessweek. Acquiremedia,. 2012. Web. 2012. <http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/news/article.asp?docKey=600-

201208221429APDIGITLFINANCE__US_Best_Buy_Analyst_N-1>. • "Annual Financials for Best Buy Co. Inc." Market Watch. Wall Street Journal. Web. 2012. <http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/bby/financials>. • "Annual Report." Best Buy Co. Inc. Best Buy, 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83192&p=irol-reportsannual>. • "Best Buy Co Inc in Consumer Electronics (USA)." Local Company Profile (n.d.): n. pag. Euromonitor International. Web. 2012. <http://www.marketsqueeze.com/2012/07/06/was-circuit-citys-closing-foreshadowing-for-

best-buy/> • “Best Buy Co Inc. (BBY:New York).” AP Digital, Bloomberg Businessweek.2012. <http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/news/article.asp?docKey=600-

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• "Best Buy Earnings Release." 4 Traders. Thomson Reuters. 2012. <http://www.4-traders.com/BEST-BUY-CO-INC-11778/calendar/>. • "Best Buy Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2013 Results." Best Buy. Best Buy. Web. 2012. <http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83192&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1727161&highlight>. • “Best Buy's Q2 highlights challenges facing new CEO”, Larry Dignan, ZD net.com. 2012. <http://www.zdnet.com/best-buys-q2-highlights-challenges-facing-new-ceo-7000002939/> • "Best Buy SG&A Expense Quarterly." Y Charts. Y Charts. Web. 2012. <http://ycharts.com/companies/BBY/sga_expense>. • "Best Buy's Eroding Competitive Advantages." Seeking Alpha. 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 2012. <http://seekingalpha.com/article/310849-best-buy-s-eroding-competitive-advantages>. • Boehringer, Daryl. “Daryl Boehringer Quotes.” Cleveland Research. 2012. <http://www.successories.com/iquote/author/72532/daryl-boehringer-quotes/1.> • Burritt, Chris. "Best Buy CEO Says Employee Training Key to Reviving Stores." Bloomberg Businessweek: News from Bloomberg. Bloomberg News. 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-

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• Dignan, Larry. "Best Buy's Q2 Highlights Challenges Facing New CEO." ZDNet. Web. 2012. <http://www.zdnet.com/best-buys-q2-highlights-challenges-facing-new-ceo-7000002939/>.

• Duprey, Rich. “Keeping Tabs on Best Buy's Demise.” The Motley Fool. 2012. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/10/17/best-buy-to-sell-own-tablet.aspx.

• Gandel, Stephen. “Best Buy bid shows leverage is back.” CNN Money. 2012. http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/08/07/best-buy-leverage/.

• Gilroy, Amy. “Best Buy’s Dunn Resigns.” CE Outlook. Web. 2012. http://www.ceoutlook.com/2012/04/10/best-buys-dunn-resigns/

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• “How to Save Best Buy from Extinction.” Caroline Winter, BloombergBusinessweek, 2012, http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-06/how-to-save-best-buy-from-extinction

• "Is Best Buy's Big-box Business Model Dead?" The Week. The Week Publications Inc., 2012. Web. 2012. <http://theweek.com/article/index/226277/is-best-buys-big-box-business-model-dead>.

• Kelly, Anne Marie. "Whoever Ends Up Running Best Buy Could Inherit Happy Shoppers." Forbes. Forbes Magazine. 2012. Web. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/annemariekelly/2012/08/31/whoever-ends-up-running-best-buy-could-inherit-happy-shoppers/>.

• Lachapelle, Tara, and Chris Burritt. "Best Time for Best Buy Bid Now as Founder Exits: Real M&A." Bloomberg. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. < http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-10/best-time-for-best-buy-bid-now-as-founder-exits-real-m-a.html>

• Lee, Thomas. “Best Buy's founder taps ex-CEO for buyout.” StarTribune. 2012. http://www.startribune.com/printarticle/?id=164257326.

• Mani. “Best Buy (BBY): Buyout Feasible Albeit Unlikely.” iStockAnalyst. 2012. http://www.istockanalyst.com/finance/story/6015332/best-buy-bby-buyout-feasible-albeit-unlikely.

• "NYSE:BBY Quotes & News." Google Finance. Web. 2012. <http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:BBY>. • Rosenberg, Yuval. “5 Founders That Came Back To Rescue Their Companies.” Huffington Post. 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/15/founders-rescue-companies_n_1778956.html.

• "Showrooming." Techopedia.com. Web. 2012. <http://www.techopedia.com/definition/28277/showrooming>. • Skariachan, Dhanya. "Best Buy Suspends Profit Outlook, Share Buybacks." Reuters. Thomson Reuters. 2012. Web. 2012. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/21/us-bestbuy-results-

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• Sterman, David. “The Crowd Is Wrong About Best Buy.” Seeking Alpha. 2012. <http://seekingalpha.com/article/479221-the-crowd-is-wrong-about-best-buy.> • Strasser, David; Vora, Sarong; Bassman, Darren. “Best Buy Buyout More Likely Than Staples.” Barren’s. 2012.

<http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424053111904819604577651612696848268.html.> 16