Best Buy announces holiday initiatives

NEW YORK Best Buy announced a number of initiatives it says underscore the company’s intent to win during the fast-approaching and critical end-of-year buying period, especially in mobile technology, home theater, selection, services and pricing.

CEO Brian Dunn and other executives provided context to the company’s connected world vision, described in a Best Buy consumer study, Our World, Connected, that they contend provides evidence of the need to address the consumer’s influence over technology in new and more creative ways.

“People are driving technology innovation for the first time in decades,” CEO Brian Dunn said. “That’s why Best Buy will emphasize our distinctive assets that help make technology more accessible, and deliver the experiences that connect people to the services they need, the information they crave, the entertainment they desire and the people they love.”

Mike Vitelli, president, Best Buy, Americas, highlighted Best Buy Mobile, noting that this business unit is the single biggest driver of growth for the company this year. Best Buy Mobile is in all Best Buy big box stores and hopes to be in 150 Best Buy Mobile stand-alone stores in shopping malls throughout the United States by Thanksgiving, Vitelli reported.

Other Best Buy product and service offers include "Free Phone Fridays," where Best Buy will offer a different smart phone in-store and online free each week with a two-year activation and "Store Pickup Plus," a free site-to-store service, which will enable customers to pick up their online purchases conveniently at a Best Buy store and skip the shipping charge.