Best Buy

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is a Fortune 100 company and the largest specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States and Canada, accounting for 17% of the market. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, and, in Canada, Future Shop. Together these operate over 1150 stores in the United States, Canada and China. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Richfield, Minnesota, USA (near Minneapolis). On June 26, 2007, Best Buy announced a 40% increase in its operations, with plans to operate over 1800 stores worldwide, including 1400 Best Buy stores in the U.S. alone.

Best Buy was named "Company of the Year" by Forbes magazine in 2004, "Specialty Retailer of the Decade" by Discount Store News in 2001, ranked in the Top 10 of "America's Most Generous Corporations" by Forbes magazine, and made Fortune Magazine's List of Most Admired Companies in 2006.

History

1966 -- Richard M. Schulze and business partner James Wheeler open Sound of Music, an audio specialty store, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

1967 -- Sound of Music acquires Kencraft Hi-Fi Company and Bergo Company. Second and third Sound of Music stores are opened near the University of Minnesota and in downtown Minneapolis. The Sound of Music ends its first year with gross sales of $173,000.

1969 -- Sound of Music stock first traded as publicly-held company; company enacts first employee stock option plan; three stores opened in the Twin Cities area.

1970 -- Sound of Music hits the $1 million mark in annual revenues.

1979 -- Sound of Music becomes the first suppliers of video and laserdisc equipment including Panasonic, Magnavox, Sony and Sharp.

1981 -- A tornado hits the Roseville, Minnesota store on June 14. Sound of Music responds with a "Tornado Sale," and it becomes an annual event.

1983 -- Sound of Music’s board of directors approves a new corporate name: Best Buy Co., Inc.; opens first superstore in Burnsville, Minnesota, featuring expanded selling space, a wide assortment of discounted brand-name goods, central service, and warehouse distribution; stores begin selling appliances and videocassette recorders.

1987 -- Best Buy (symbol BBY) debuts on the New York Stock Exchange with an offering of 8.3 million shares.

1989 -- Best Buy unveils a new “grab-and-go” store format. Best Buy’s brand logo changes to the familiar yellow tag.

1995 -- Best Buy develops and implements the Standard Operating Platform (SOP) to support and manage every aspect of the company’s business; the Answer Center kiosk is nominated for the Computerworld Smithsonian Award.

1997 -- Best Buy becomes the first national retailer to sell DVD hardware and software.

1998 -- Best Buy sells its 1-millionth DVD, a year after the DVD’s debut. The company also begins selling high-definition television.

2000 -- Best Buy enters the online retailing business by launching Bestbuy.com; Best Buy acquires Magnolia Hi-Fi (renamed Magnolia Audio Video in 2003), a retailer of high-end consumer electronics; music Compact Cassettes are removed from most stores.

2001 -- Best Buy acquires the Canada-based electronics-chain Future Shop Ltd. and marks the company's entrance to the international marketplace; Best Buy acquires Musicland, a mall -based retailer for music and entertainment software; Best Buy launches Redline Entertainment, an independent music label and action-sports video distributor.

2002 -- Brad Anderson succeeds Schulze as Best Buy's CEO; the company acquires Geek Squad®, a 24-hour computer support taskforce; first Canadian Best Buy store opens in Mississauga, Ontario west of Toronto.

2003 -- U.S. Best Buy stores surpass the 600 mark; the company opens its first global sourcing office in Shanghai; Fortune magazine ranks Best Buy #4 on its list of most admired U.S. companies in the specialty retailers industry; the corporate offices are consolidated in one headquarters campus; Best Buy divests itself of Musicland; the company begins to segment their stores, which is considered a major part of the company's "customer centricity" transformation; the Reward Zone loyalty program and the Sweet Tracks Christmas music series are both introduced in the U.S.

2004 -- Forbes magazine names Best Buy “Company of the Year.” Geek Squad precincts are opened in every Best Buy store nationwide, offering in-store service during store business hours; Best Buy offers Learning Place, its post-purchase, online customer service center. Best Buy customers purchase secure access to interactive product user-manuals, live text/voice chat service and a discussion forum to use, fix and extend the products they buy.

2005 -- Sound & Vision magazine awards Best Buy its first ever "Retailer Innovation Award" for its Magnolia store within a store concept and other retail innovations.

2006 -- Best Buy acquires a majority interest in the retail chain Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co., Ltd. China’s fourth-largest appliance and consumer electronics retailer. On November 17th, the company signs a 10 year lease to open a 4-floor store later in 2007 at the former Virgin Megastore on trendy and upscale Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts. In late December, Best Buy soft-opens its first Best Buy-branded store in Shanghai; an 80,000 square foot location (the largest in the company). Best Buy opens its 800th store in Chicago, Illinois.

2007 -- On January 26, 2007 the first Best Buy in China had its grand opening - touted as the largest Best Buy in existence James Wheeler spoke for 45 mins for the grand opening. In March, Best Buy announced plans to purchase Seattle, WA based Speakeasy, Inc., a broadband and VOIP services provider. The company continues to explore new markets, including current construction of two new stores in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the announcement of test stores in Mexico and Turkey.