It’s been a rough week for Best Buy. And if something doesn’t happen soon…it’s only going to get worse as the company is on a slippery slope and quickly losing the support of Wall Street. Already the company was embroiled in turmoil having recently dismissed CEO Brian Dunn for an inappropriate relationship with a young, female employee…scolding and then losing founder and chairman Richard “Dick” Schulze who knew about the relationship and didn’t tell anyone…and then enduring a reasonably PR-savvy public campaign as Schulze announced intentions to buy the company and take it private. Finally – as if to emphasize how bad things had become – this past Monday the company announced their fiscal Q2 results with a shocking 91% drop in profits. But wait! There’s more…
Industry Trends
Forget 4K! Japanese Engineers Create New Global Standard – UHDTV
As the industry is on the verge of rolling out the latest HDTV upgrade – 4K resolution – news comes out of Japan that a coalition of Japanese broadcasters and television equipment manufacturers have collaborated to create the next great standard they call Ultra High Definition Television or UHDTV. Another incremental improvement? Oh no…UHDTV leapfrogs 4K…
Have you heard about UHDTV? You’re going to want to know about this… [Read more…] about Forget 4K! Japanese Engineers Create New Global Standard – UHDTV
J.D. Power & Assocs. Survey Proves What We’ve Said All Along: 3D is Dead as a Sales Motivator
I know not everyone who reads this post agrees with us, and we’ve taken a fair share of criticism for our viewpoint, but we’ve been consistently skeptical of the power of 3D to drive HDTV sales. And now, after the industry spent millions (billions?) of dollars in promotion and advertising , as well as several years of intense sales effort, and probably billions of dollars in research & development – a new survey of HDTV-purchasing consumers from reputable researcher J.D. Power and Associates shows that 3D was ranked a distant last as the reason they purchased their set.
The survey held some other surprises as well… [Read more…] about J.D. Power & Assocs. Survey Proves What We’ve Said All Along: 3D is Dead as a Sales Motivator
Take Our Latest CEDIA EXPO Survey
Once again it’s show time! We are taking our 2012 CEDIA Expo Survey as we did last year. As you probably know, the Expo is only a couple of short weeks away and we’d like to get your insight into this seminal industry event. [Read more…] about Take Our Latest CEDIA EXPO Survey
Best Buy Board to Schulze: You Show Us Yours Before We Show You Ours
Reuters is reporting that the Best Buy board of directors has asked founder and former chairman Richard Schulze to name the private equity (PE) firms that he can line up to help him buy out Best Buy stock and take the company private. But reportedly Schulze is playing coy, saying only that there’s a “number of leading private equity firms” prepared to make a significant commitment.
In an email to Reuters, the board said, in effect, it will take its time to study the proposal… [Read more…] about Best Buy Board to Schulze: You Show Us Yours Before We Show You Ours
Nortek Financial Results Show That, Despite Best Efforts, TECH Remains Troubled
At the end of last week, Nortek, Inc. reported their financial results for the fiscal second quarter and first half. While at first blush the overall numbers look good – sales up 9% in Q2 and 8% in 1st Half and returning to profitability for both periods – digging deeper shows that their technology business unit (TECH) and residential ventilation business unit (RESV) are not yet participating in the company’s turnaround. Given the significant amount of restructuring of their TECH segment, this result is troubling. [Read more…] about Nortek Financial Results Show That, Despite Best Efforts, TECH Remains Troubled
Former Retail Shining Star Vann’s Declares Bankruptcy
Based in Missoula, Montana, Vann’s Inc. has been a shining star of the retail business – for years a hearty player in a rugged part of the country where only the strong survive. Founded in 1961 by Pete Vann, the company has steadily grown over the years – adding locations, diversifying retail formats, and even expanding into online sales. But signs of stress began to emerge this year with the company closing one location in February, then replacing long-time CEO George Manlove in June with a CEO from outside the company, losing the support of a key lender in July, and finally declaring bankruptcy just a little over one week ago.
How did this all happen?…. [Read more…] about Former Retail Shining Star Vann’s Declares Bankruptcy
After Surprising Analysts with Initial Downgraded 2012 TV Sales Forecast, Sony & Sharp Stun Again with Deeper Cuts
The Nikkei Reported today that both Sony Corp. and Sharp Corp. have further reduced their original forecast for fiscal year 2012 flat-panel HDTV sales in the wake of a worldwide slowdown in demand. The move surprised analysts, as both companies had forecast weaker demand as part of their initial 2012 forecast. But, as we’ve been reporting for months, sales of flat-panel TVs in Japan’s domestic market have fallen off a cliff as previous government rebate programs meant to encourage consumers to switch to a new digital TV system, as well as to more energy-efficient TVs and appliances, came to an end. Now, manufacturers are experiencing slack demand around the world, including a slowdown in the market they had been counting on to provide substantial growth – China. [Read more…] about After Surprising Analysts with Initial Downgraded 2012 TV Sales Forecast, Sony & Sharp Stun Again with Deeper Cuts
Did AudioXpert’s Launch Succeed in ‘Exceeding Expectations’ as Their Tag Line Promises?
Last month, we reported on the pre-launch of a new brand…the rather boldly named AudioXperts – founded by well-known industry veteran, Eli Harary and the team of sales, marketing, engineering, and product specialists he assembled. This pre-launch announcement was then followed-up by an official launch at a press event in Manhattan on Tuesday of this week. For a lot of reasons, this was a notable event – not the least of which is that there are very few new companies launching in the current incredibly difficult industry environment. But this “birth of a brand” also – for a number of reasons – set a very high bar for expectations related to its launch, which drew a substantial press contingent.
Did AudioXperts live up to their “exceeding expectations” tag line?… [Read more…] about Did AudioXpert’s Launch Succeed in ‘Exceeding Expectations’ as Their Tag Line Promises?
Best Buy Founder Schulze Rounds Up the Old Gang for One Last Try
Bloomberg News reported on Monday that the Best Buy Co. board of directors has received a letter with an offer from company founder and former chairman Richard Schulze to acquire all outstanding shares of the company stock and take it private. Schulze is said to have the support of at least two private equity companies and an investment bank that is confident it can arrange adequate financing. Schulze also says several former Best Buy executives are interested in joining him in the process of reinvigorating the company.