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The Rise And Fall Of A Retail Giant

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The Rise and Fall of a Retail Giant
Abstract
Best Buy, a familiar retailer in the technology world, is struggling to stay on top. Online and mass stores have cornered the market in terms of convenience, customer service and price matching. The recent closing of over two hundred stores alongside falling sales has experts predicting that the giant won’t be in business long. Using a results-only work environment (ROWE), Best Buy has removed the customer from the equation and forced many employees out. A marketing disaster, Best Buy must change its marketing strategy from sales-based to a customer-based to stay afloat.
Best Buy Inc. has built a reputation as a ground-breaking retail giant. It is known as one of the first “big box” stores in …show more content…

Paul, MN. The original founders were business partners Richard M. Schulze and Gary Smoliak. Schulze bought out Smoliak, and began building it into a superstore. He then expanded to include VCRs and other home appliances, and in 1985, Best Buy went public. By 1987 it gained a listing on the New York Stock Exchange and revenues reached $239 million from 24 stores. Growth was incessant. At the time, the market was fresh for such a unique store. Its current logo, a yellow sales tag, and its “pick-up and go” style setup was introduced around 1990. (Company History)
Growth
Revenue continued to double throughout the nineties. In 1995, Best Buy’s revenue was $3 billion, but there was no profit. They trained their employees to believe that customers were in charge of sales, not salespeople, and that they were there to assist in purchases, not be pushy. The consumer of the millennium was less needy for assistance in buying electronics; audio, video, and computer systems were commonplace in households of the time. Customers were allowed to help themselves to items on shelves, much like a grocery store setup, and check out when ready. This bolstered customer satisfaction rates. Revenue was above10 Billion in 1999. (Company Histories)
In 2000, the company decided to launch a website, BestBuy.com. There, customers could shop from the privacy of their homes without ever dealing with sales representatives. The site was a

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