Best Buy Case Study

External Environment
EFAS matrix to include SWOT
Provide detailed comments with appropriate quantitative analysis
Prove an abstract to summarize the EFAS matrix
***Minimum 3-5 points in each category***
5 Forces Analysis
Review Porters article to match forces with suitable factors
Review week 3 lecture slides to include why industry profits are threatened this should
support high-low analysis
 Best Buy
I. Current Situation
A. Current Performance

B. Strategic Posture
1. Mission
a. Though Best Buy does not have an
official mission statement, they are committed to providing expert
service at an unbeatable price [for] more than 1.5 billion times a
year to the consumers, small business owners and educators who
visit [their] stores.(Best Buy website).
2. Objectives
a.
3. Strategies
a. Best Buy implemented the Renew
Blue (Best Buy website).strategy to combat shrinking profit
margin and declining store sales. The strategy is designed to
strengthen their in-store customer experience, attract new
leadership and employees, seek out new partnership to drive value,
 increase return on investment, and create a great impact in their
communities through leadership and responsibility.
4. Policies

II. Strategic Managers

A. Board of Directors
a. Thirteen members - eight are outsiders
b. All above the age of fifty.
c. Deep backgrounds with many relations to other major companies.
d. Minimal international backgrounds.
B. Top Management
a. CEO came from hospitality industry.
b. Majority of top management have joined in the past five
years.
c. Broad background from each individual.
d. Incorporating new key staff.

III. External Environment (EFAS Table; see Exhibit 1)

Efas Table

A. Natural Environment
Best Buy, being a retail chain of consumer electronics and home goods, has a naturally competitive market share.
Being a red ocean they constantly have to compete with their rivals based on pricing and strategic promotion deals.
Thus being a retail store they naturally have been affected by the rise of new technologies and the rise of E-
commerce. Its natural competitors have all transitioned online and the retail store is taking small losses. Due to
intense competition which benefits the consumer, the actual company has been struggling to turn profits in the past 3
years.

B. Societal Environment

1. Economic
Growing Chinese Retail Market (O):
The Chinese retail market over the years has been experiencing a constant growth rate. The National
Bureau of Statistics of China has reported that the country has retail sales of buyer goods totaling $3,792.4 billion in
2013, which is a year-on-year growth of 13.2%. In addition, in 2014 the total retail sales of buyer goods amounted to
$3,060.6 billion, which is a year-on-year increase of approximately 13%. It is also important to note that the demand
for household devices and audio equipment increased by 9% in 2014. It is with these distinct economic trends,
coupled together with population growth and the increase of affluence in individuals that have led to the expansion
of Chinas retail market. Its expanding urban population and consumers desire to spend more will galvanize
Chinas growth of the retail market. Moreover, MarketLine believes that the demand for electronic products within
China will advance at a CAGR of 7.2%. Currently Best Buy has 190 stores operating in China and will likely
increase within the years to come. As such, Best Buy is in a good position to take advantage of the positive retail
movement within China (Sheng Lu, 2010).

Positive Outlook for Global Consumer Electronics Market (O):

The global consumer electronics market is projected to expand in the near future. MarketLine predicts that
the global consumer electronics market will reach revenues of $254.1 billion in 2013. In addition, the audio visual
equipment sector was the most profitable sector in 2013 with revenues amounting to $236.4 billion which is
identical to 94.1% of the markets global value (Euro monitor, 2014).
Best Buy provides a wide selection of consumer electronics. Some of these include televisions, digital
cameras/camcorders, DVDs, compact electronics such as speakers and MP3 players, radios, and all relevant
accessories. The preceding data support a positive outlook for the consumer electronic market, which will allow the
company to increase its revenue within the short to medium period.

Intense Competition to Constrict Margins (T):

The competition in electronic retailing has increased over the years as discounters, merchants, and online
retailers are trying to obtain parts of the market share. Since there has been a large dependency on new product
creation, the consumer electronic industry has increased in competition. Fostering brand loyalty is even more
difficult since many retailers compete only on price with undifferentiated products (Kallstrom, 2015). This affects
certain products more than others, like televisions and cameras. Without a niche or increases in scale, it is difficult
for Best Buy to compete with a low-cost business such as Wal-Mart. Another problem is that online retailers have
taken bold actions to occupy the market share, which was something that Best Buy once had above its suppliers. In
addition, as buyers progressively adopt digital dissemination, many of Best Buys competitive advantages such as
brand name and retail location may fade away. In addition, companies such as Microsoft and Apple may become
competitors of Best Buy as they enhance their retail carriers. The company is also susceptible to the quickly
changing technological trends within the retail sector, for example, buyers shifting from home computers to mobile
devices.
In spite of reducing prices during the 2013 holiday season, Best Buy was unable to compete with its
competitors such as Amazon and Wal-Mart as in store sales declined by 0.9% for nine weeks until January 2014
( Forbes contributor, 2014) . This was because many consumers are shopping online for products and using stores as
a way to see the product. To combat this, Best Buy implemented a price-matching plan to combat the rising
competition amongst online retailers. In using this strategy, Best Buy aims to govern the transfer of its customers
from its stores to online site. The company needs to boost its efforts to maintain its market share in the digital
allocation marketplace to stay competitive within this business sector.

2. Technological
Higher Penetration of Private Labels (O):
One of the distinct elements for electronic wholesalers is their portfolio of private brands.
Best Buy provides consumers with a variety of exclusive brands that include Dynex, Platinum, Insignia, and
Rocketfish. The company currently administers its global sourcing facility in China which aims to innovate, design,
test, and acquire its own personal line of licensed brands (Dawes, 2003).
Nearly all of the licensed brand products that the company offers are constructed under agreements by
Asian based vendors. The company aims to increase their sales of these exclusive brands as a way to improve their
company sales. It is also important to note that in 2012, Best Buy started its own tablet device, which is sold
exclusively in its online and physical stores. Best Buy intends to broaden its portfolio of private products so that
they may expand their gross margin.
The key element increasing the growth of private brands in the retail sector is the same as that driving
competition as a whole in the market? The cost-cutting spending behaviors of consumers have raised the popularity
of exclusive labels, as they are typically priced lower. These exclusive labels are expected to garner positive sales
growth even though consumer spending on electronics is still price sensitive. This will help advance profitability for
retailers such as Best Buy because exclusive labels typically garner higher margins due to supply chain integration.
Exclusive labels give specialists a competitive advantage because the creation of technological and electrical
products demands certain knowledge, which many non-specialists do not have. These private products may give
Best Buy a competitive edge over their competitors as long as they maintain their consumer brand loyalty (Dawes,
2003).

3. Political-Legal
Rise in Cost of Procurement from China (T):
Since low labor costs have been a crucial part of increasing acquisition of products, this advantage is
rapidly deteriorating as labor costs have increased within China. Factories that are closer to the ocean have expanded
the hourly payment for workers while the local government is attempting to raise the minimum wage for employees.
As of 2014, wages within China have been adjusted in eleven regions around China, which include Beijing,
Guangdong, Shanxi, Shanghai, etc. For example in Shanghai and Beijing the hourly minimum wage increased by
21.5%. The country aims to boost the nationwide minimum wage by 13% annually until 2015. With this increase in
wages, the corresponding cost of producing goods in China will most likely rise as labor costs grow. Since the
company has procurement offices within China and supplies some of its own products from the country, the wage
increase will likely boost the operating costs for Best Buy. It is likely that the prices of electronic goods will
increase, which will be difficult to pass on to consumers in the United States, as consumers are cautious and
spending fewer. As competition increases from other online retailers, the company will have less power to pass on
the heightened costs to its customers (EElwell, 2010).

4. Sociocultural
Rising Popularity of E-Commerce (O):
Over the years, E-Commerce has been gaining popularity amongst consumers due to the ease of access and
decreased prices when compared to physical stores. The US Department of Commerce have analyzed the growth of
E-Commerce and within just The United States, E-Commerce has grown from $168.2 billion in 2012 to $264.2
billion in 2013 which averaged with prior growth reflects an annual growth rate of approximately 16.3%.
Furthermore, total retail sales increased by 4.5% in 2013. It is important to point out that within the third quarter of
2014; e-commerce sales totaled $78.3 billion, which is an upturn of 16.3% when compared to 2013. Canada has also
been experiencing a similar trend. More than half of the users of the internet in Canada purchased products online in
2012 and is expected to rise (Defranza, 2014). According to Statistics Canada, e-commerce sales are anticipated to
expand at a rate of 11%.
Best Buy entrenched itself exceptionally well within the online retail sector. As competition increases from
other online retailers, Best Buy needs to be able to cater to this growing audience if they want to stay competitive.
Furthermore, the channel administers operating cost benefits that can be transferred to buyers who are more cautious
about purchases. The online channel for Best Buy should grant increased top-line growth (Babej, 2013).

C. Task Environment

Best Buy lies in a heavily competitive market dominated by Wal-mart, Frys Electronics, and Amazon. The
demise of Circuit City has freed up some of the market space but the shift towards E- commerce is extremely toxic
for the retail industry. Being that online shopping is more convenient for price comparison and Best Buys lack of
customer service was already transparent, the added value of its competitors, primarily Amazon, cannot be matched
within forces of the industry.

IV. Internal Environment

A. Corporate Structure
B. Functional Structure
On August 20, 2012, Hubert Joly was appointed as the President and Chief Executive Officer at Best Buy Co, Inc.
As President, Holy presides over seven Executive Officers that manages smaller committees and managers( Best
Buy website). The names of those chief officers consists of: Sharon L. McCollam, Keith J. Nelsen, Shari L. Ballard,
Greg Revelle, Jude C. Buckley, Rajendra Michael Mohan, and Adam Crawford. The picture below depicts a general
illustration of what a functional corporate structure entails.
Since November 9, 2012, Ms. Sharon L. McCollam was appointed as an Executive Vice
President, Chief Administrative Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. Additionally, she served as the
companys Principal Accounting Officer from February 14, 2014 to April 10, 2015. (Finance)
In March 2012, Mr. Keith J. Nelsen was chosen as Best Buy Incs Executive Vice President,
General Counsel, Chief Risk Officer and Secretary. (Risk Management)
Since July 30, 2013, Ms. Shari L. Ballard was appointed as Best Buy, Incs Executive Vice
President, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Region Officer. In addition to her other position, Ballard
was chosen as Executive Vice President and President for Best Buy International starting in January 2012.
(Human Resources)
Beginning on January 30, 2015, Mr. Greg Revelle was placed in the position as Chief Marketing
Officer for Best Buy Inc. His responsibilities are to develop the companys marketing strategy and
branding techniques that is used in-store and online. (Marketing)
As of January 2014, Mr. Jude C. Buckley was appointed as Best Buy, Inc.s Chief Commercial
Officer. In this position, Buckley is able to oversee marketing functions, which include floor space
optimization and promotions.
Mr. Rajendra Michael Mohan serves as Chief Merchandising Officer for Best Buy, Inc. (Sales)

Mr. Adam Crawford serves as Chief Operating Officer for Best Buy, Inc. (Operations)

C. Corporate Culture
Best Buy prides themselves on providing an exhilarating workplace environment for their employees.They
 describe it as, Challenging. Rewarding. And most of all, it's fun (Best Buy Jobs). Employees are expected
to stay on top of and in the know of all the new cool music, movies, and technology. Best Buy carries
themselves as a company whose employees are made to feel like they are part of the industry, not just the
company. This allows them to feel empowered and involved in the company. One of their five pillars Best
Buys Renew Blue transformation states that they strive to inspire and attract their employees (Corporate
Best Buy). They also try to be as diverse as possible, explaining that this allows them to be stronger as a
company. They state, Our goal is simple: Unleash the power of our people and utilize their unique talents,
experiences, beliefs and background to create an engaging work environment and a world-class retailing
operation (Corporate Best Buy). They aim to get all their employees involved as much as possible, which
produces self motivated employees who work for the best of the company (Pearce & Robinson R., 2003).

D. Corporate Resources
1. Marketing:
A. Marketing segmentation
During the last decade, Best Buy has shifted
its focus from products and technology to customers. The goal was to focus on
the most attractive customers based on the important differences between them
in their purchasing and preferences in consumer electronics (Markets,
Segments, and Customer Value, 71) Therefore, their customer base has been
segmented according to basic lifestyle groups. Some of their high-priority
groups include: the family shopper - shopping for technology for the family.
Next, the business man - wanting to get their hands on the latest technology
trends. Thirdly, tech enthusiasts - those who always want the most new and
improved technology. Lastly, Mr. Storefront - those with businesses who use
Best Buy technology for their own business solutions.
B. Product Portfolio:
Best Buys product portfolio
consists of different categories of products ranging from home appliances to
electronics.
They carry various reputable
brands such as Whirlpool, Panasonic, Sharp, Dyson, among much more.

C. Marketing Mix (4ps)

o Product: Focus on electronics. They sell: home appliances, video games/movies/music, computers/tablets,
cameras/camcorders, TV/home theater appliances, car electronics, and home & office products. Best Buy provides
quality items from brands such as: Panasonic, Sharp, Canon, HP, Insignia, Whirlpool, Dyson, Microsoft, and Apple,
among much more. They also offer their service called, Geek Squad which is a repair service/support for their
products.

o Price: Their products range from everyday dollar items like batteries to $2,500 laptops. They offer quality
products from reputable brands and the prices of their products reflect that. They also have a price match guarantee,
where they price match to all local retail companies and even online retailers such as: Amazon.com,
Bhphotovideo.com, Crutchfield.com, Dell.com, HP.com, Newegg.com, and TigerDirect.com. They also offer
college student discounts, lowered prices through their Best Buy outlet, where they sell clearance, pre-owned,
refurbished and open-box items, and weekly sales on their products. Their competitors offer products at little to no
price difference, this can cause an issue of low switching costs and loss of the market.

o Promotion: Best Buy reaches their audience with TV commercials, billboards, weekly mail advertisements, and
their online presence through Facebook, Twitter, Geek Squad and Best Buy Community forums, Bluenation
Shirt, and blogs.

o Place: Customers can shop Best Buy from their 1,915 physical stores worldwide including in Europe and
Canada. They also hold a huge online presence customers can shop from all around the world, where they can also
access their My Best Buy rewards points, review their orders/returns, learn about support/services, compare
prices, and buy products.

2. Finance:
A. Current financial plans:
To improve their financial situation, Best Buy launched
renew blue. With this tactic, they are strengthening relationships with vendors,
revamping stores, increasing same-store sales, eliminating unnecessary costs, and
ramping up Best Buys online business (Market Realist). They have eliminated
unnecessary costs by closing stores, laying people off, and making their supply chains
more efficient. To strengthen their relationship with vendors, they are partnering up with
 electronics suppliers and opening stores-within-a-store. The company is also expanding
their online presence to stay relevant against other online retailers.

B. Financial Leverage
Best Buys debt to asset ratio in the past five years has been
consistently high (See table ___)

C. Ratio Analysis

3. R&D:
A. R&D Intensity:
Best Buys does not currently have any research and development expenses.
The company should look into developing a method into understanding their
customer base to stay relevant in the competitive industry.

4. Operations:
A. Operating Leverage
B. Experience Curve
C. Economies of Scale
D. Just-in-time

5. Human Resources
A. Virtual Teams

B. Unions

C. Temporary/Part-time workers

Based on Best Buys 2014 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report, Best Buy operates in four major
countries, such as United States of America, Canada, Mexico, China. Within those four countries, Best Buy
Corporations number of employees consist of:
1. 62,000 part-time employees and 56,000 full-time employees in the United States
2. 7,200 part-time employees and 6,200 full-time employees in Canada
3. 900 part-time employees and 600 full-time employees in Mexico
4. 0 part-time employees and 7,500 full-time employees in China

For numerous part-time employee positions, Best Buy offers an appealing wage rate and many benefits and rewards
that are available for the full-time employees. Those benefits consist of:
401(k) retirement fund
employee discount at Best Buy stores
Employee Assistance Program
 D. Quality of Work Life

Best Buy does its best to keep an open door policy for its employees to communicate any concerns they might have
regarding the efficiency and productivity of the company. Best Buy welcomes the opportunity for employees to tell
administrators how they feel about working at the company. The company puts effort to establish continuous
conversation with its employees to gain feedback (Lawler, 1980). The method that Best Buy utilizes to get employee
feedback is through an eVoice survey. The eVoice survey collects feedback from employees across the enterprise in
Canada, Mexico, the U.S. and China. In this survey, Best Buy is able to determine information regarding employee
satisfaction and the numerous areas of operations that there is need for improvement. Another method that Best Buy
utilizes to gain feedback from employees is global town halls. These global town halls are coordinated by senior
leaders in the company, where they share the state of the business with the employees and ongoing progress for
specific initiatives that Best Buy is working on.

For small to large businesses, a companys employee retention rate determines how employees are compensated and
treated in the work environment. Located below is a chart that shows Best Buys employee retention percentage rate
and turnover percentage rate from the companys 2012 fiscal year to 2014 fiscal year. As show in the chart, since
2012, Best
Buys total
United States
retention rate
has
increased
and its
employee
turnover rate
has
decreased.

E. Human Diversity

Best Buys focus is to attract and maintain the best employees to ensure the success of the company. Best Buy
makes the effort to have a diverse workforce to establish an inclusive work environment. In 2014, Best Buy scored
100 percent for the ninth time by Human Rights Campaign. This rating system is determined by the policies and
practices that are center on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees. Located below are diversity data
based on different ethnic demographics from Best Buys 2012 fiscal year to the 2014 fiscal year.

6. Information Systems
A. Technologys Impact on Performance

B. Supply Chain Management

C. Customer Relationship Management

Best Buy corporation does its best to establish a relationship with its customers by constantly staying connects to the
consumers needs and preferences. The company makes effort for each employee to have a face-to-face interactions
with the customers to ensure that customers are receiving proper customer service. This practice allows Best Buy to
build trust with the customer and encourages customers to refer its services to their friends and family. In 2014, Best
Buy executed a comprehensive customer service survey that joins input from the majority of our channels, including
buyers and additionally non-buyers. Strong involvement with these customer experience surveys allows Best Buy to
constantly improve on their customer service techniques.

V. Analysis of Strategic Factors

A. Situational Analysis (SWOT) (SFAS Matrix; see Exhibit 3)

A. Strengths:
1. One of the largest specialized electronic retailers
2. Has a customer centric business model
3. Robust supporting infrastructure.
4. Strong customer loyalty.
5. Broad selection of electronic categories.
B. Weaknesses:
1. Depends on third party vendors and manufactures. (Supplier
power)
2. Inconsistent quality of products due to unreliable third party
vendors.
3. Reliant on product innovations.
C. Opportunities:
1. Growing chinese retail market.
2. Increasing popularity of e-commerce will boost online
revenues.
3. Strong portfolio of exclusive brands that Best Buy wants to
develop.
4. Expanding global electronics market.
D. Threats:
1. Intense competition in electronics retail market.
2. Low switching costs. Products are often differentiated by their
price tag, making value oriented retailers more appealing.
3. Electronic E-commerce retailers such as Amazon, Newegg,
etc.
4. Rising labour costs.

B. Review of Current Mission and Objectives

1. Very customer oriented mission. Hopes to grow with its customers.
2. Too broad of a mission statement that only involves customer relationships.

VI. Strategic Alternatives and Recommended Strategy

A. Strategic Alternatives
Acquire similar businesses in the industry (Rothschild, 1979):
(Pros) Creates a synergy in the market where Best Buy could capture the majority of sales.
(Cons) Best Buy lacks the financial capital to complete such acquisitions.
Increase their presence in foreign countries who they are not currently serving or who they are under
serving (Harris, 2006):
(Pros) Increases percentage of market share Best Buy owns, increase economies of scale.
(Cons) Not a guarantee to be successful, customer aquisitions rate could be more costly.

Implement smaller/specialty stores within smaller market plazas that see lower levels of human traffic:
(Pros) Increases operations and revenues with lower overhead costs per store.
(Cons) Risk of creating negative cash flows, unproportional revenues to costs.

Implement artificial intelligence in their stores as a method for customers to find out precise and specific
information regarding the products in Best Buy (Woods, 2011) .
(Pros): Implementing artificial intelligence into their stores is cheaper than training the employees to be
experts of the products. This will lower operational costs, allowing Best Buy to better compete in the
price war against their competitors.
(Cons): The technology is there however the infrastructure is not. It will require large initial investments
and the development of the technology infrastructure. (Cavusgil S., Knight G., 2012)/
Nate

B. Recommended Strategy
1. Increase Best Buys presence in foreign countries that Best Buy is not
currently serving or is currently under serving. There are significant demands for Best
Buys products in more counties than they are currently serving. They have the potential
to increase their revenue if they tap into these markets. Best Buy should build retail stores
in these specific regions that have satisfactory population sizes and corresponding
demands to sustain their operations, as well as where the populations' current means of
obtaining these types of products are expensive, inefficient or inconvenient. If Best Buy
is able to spread consumer awareness of their brand and what they have to offer in these
regions where the current environmental factors are the same as above, these new retail
stores will have the likelihood of being very successful and Best Buy should make it a
priority to implement their stores in these foreign locations. This will increase the
company's productivity, as well as their revenues and percentage of total global market
share they own in their industry (Dess, G., 1993).
2. Rather than going through constant and expensive trainings for the
employees to be more up-to-date on the products, Best Buy needs to implement artificial
intelligent kiosks or robots that would require large initial investments, but would recover
the costs with the lack of additional training required for the employees (Nig R., Hn R.,
20050. This way Best Buy can focus more on keeping their prices competitively low
against Amazon, Walmart, and others. Without using artificial intelligence, Best Buy will
suffer the long-term costs of constantly needing to train employees on the new products
 that make it onto the shelves. This should sustain Best Buys operations much longer than
their current means.
Nate

VII. Implementation
A. One of the only way to sustain Best Buys current financial position and future
success of the business is to work towards bringing operational costs down, to enable the
company room to lower its prices without crushing its margins. To do this, Best Buy
needs to cut the expensive costs of constantly training and re-training the employees to be
specialists on all of the new products that fly into the stores. To do this, the adoption of
artificial intelligence is required, which would decrease the amount of employees needed
on the floor, and will lower training costs on remaining employees.
B. One of the only ways to continue or to increase Best Buys revenues is to tap
their operations into foreign demographics in which they are not currently serving or are
under serving. This will increase the amount of market share they own in the global
industry and it will consequently increase their revenues. Best Buy needs to recruit board
members who have more experience in international markets, especially European and
Asian countries, and who have a keen focus on the future (Wilson R. & Gilligan C.,
2005).
Nate

VIII. Evaluation and Control

A. Employees and analysts will need to monitor the customer use of the implemented
artificial intelligence to make sure they are satisfying the customers needs while
preserving the friendly and active customer experience Best Buy promises to give.
Constant changes to the installed artificial intelligence will be needed to improve them to
preserve the quality of the customer experience (Anna, D., 2011).
B. Recruited board members with expertise in foreign markets will need to
constantly assess the performance of new retailers in the foreign locations. Analysts will
need to monitor revenue performance and analyze percentage of market share gained by
 these retailers to assess if more or less should be implemented in the future (DiNardi,
2003) .

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