Best Buy

Fourth quarter same store sales inched up 0.9% at Best Buy and profits were better than expected as the company fared better during the holiday season than many thought.

Fourth quarter revenue increased slightly to $16.7 billion for the 13 week period ended February 2, and the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.64 compared to $2.18 the prior year. The company also said adjusted free cash flow totaled $965 million thanks to aggressive inventory reductions.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. announced it is cutting 400 jobs at its headquarters as part of its “Renew Blue” transformation efforts.

While I enjoy reading the annual sales predictions and yearly retail real estate outlook columns published each year, they often have a tendency to get bogged down in the details. When forecasting in the medium- to long-term, it’s often best to focus on the big-picture trends — an approach that not only avoids the all-too-common problem of missing the forest for the trees, but provides important insights about where the industry may be headed, not just in six or 12 months, but in six or 12 years.

New York -- Best Buy Co. is making its holiday price-matching guarantee a year-round program. Taking aim against the increasingly popular practice of “showrooming,” the consumer electronics chain will match online prices starting March 3.

Best Buy’s permanent price match has been expanded to cover almost all categories of merchandise. It does not cover phones purchased under contract.

Best Buy will also decrease its merchandise return policy from 30 days to 15 days

New York -- Richard Schulze, founder of Best Buy Co., may abandon a buyout bid and instead line up investors to take a minority position in the electronics retailer, Reuters reported.
 
Schulze informed the Best Buy board in August that he was interested in partnering with private equity partners to buy the struggling consumer electronics company. But he has been unable to get enough support from banks to finance a deal that would allow him to take it private, the report said.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) added five industry executives to its board of directors during its semi-annual meeting on Jan. 28 in Los Angeles, Calif. Also as a part of the meeting, Walmart president and CEO Bill Simon was re-elected to the board. Executives joining the board are elected to serve two-year terms. 

Joining the RILA board of directors are:

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. on Friday reported revenue of $12.8 billion for the nine weeks ended January 5, 2013, compared with $12.9 billion for the nine weeks ended December 31, 2011. Online revenue rose 10%.

Same-store sales were down 1.4%.  Domestic same-store sales were flat, but fell 6.4% internationally.

Los Gatos, Calif. -- BrightSign that LifeProof has deployed the company’s players in point-of-purchase displays in Best Buy retail stores. LifeProof, a manufacturer of rugged cases for iPhone and iPad, is using 1,600 inline displays in Best Buy’s 800 U.S.-based stores to engage customers and generate sales in the increasingly competitive iOS accessories market.