Best Buy to close 50 US stores, cut costs

[Moostache]

10. And so begins the end of store front electronics retailing...

At least in the current Best Buy model that is.

I remember about 15 years ago there was robust competition from Circuit City - (who back then was actually WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than Best Buy...at least until the geniuses at Circuit City decided the road to prosperity was paved with the dead bodies of their "over-priced" sales force - the sacking of their most senior staff was actually the last nail in the coffin for them) - and other smaller regional or local stores.

In St. Louis, back in the 1990's, I had two stores in the area and despite the low number, they seemed to have good availability of items on the shelves. By the middle of the 2000s the number of outlets had tripled, although the local availability of things did not improve, it actually got worse as their attempts at just-in time inventory were WILDLY off...and the population of the area actually DECREASED in that interval...fewer people, more stores, worse inventory management and throw in the constant haranguing to buy service plans and new "plans"....the whole thing is getting to be just "ewww"....and I LOVE electronics!

Over-expansion.
Tragically unengaged and disinterested employees.
Ham-fisted sales tactics and initiatives.
Draconian return policies that treat ALL customers like criminals.
Executive bloat and extreme salaries.
Pathetic store layouts and employee retention that would make McDonald's blush.

Best Buy will be out of business faster than anyone thinks....Circuit City went from store closings to out of business in under 2 years I think....Best Buy is about the same level of crapitude now that Circuit City was then, but the online model is more established and mature now than a few years back. Best Buy may not make it through Christmas of 2012 at their current rate of sinking...
Well, I believe that its still possible to compete (and WIN) with store front operations that make Amazon the clearing house and the local outlet the