Best Buy

Best Buy Co., Inc.
	File:Best Buy logo 2018.svg Logo since 2018
Company type	Public
Industry	Consumer electronics retail
Predecessor	Sound of Music
Founded	August 22, 1966; 60 years ago in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
Founder	Richard M. Schulze, James Wheeler
Headquarters	Richfield, Minnesota, United States
Area served	United States, Canada
Key people	Hubert Joly (executive chairman), Corie Barry (CEO)
Products	Consumer electronics, mobile devices, technology repair services
Number of employees	85,000 (2025)
Website	www.bestbuy.com

Best Buy Co., Inc. is a multinational retailer based in the United States, specializing in consumer electronics, with its headquarters located in Richfield, Minnesota. The company was established in 1966 by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler under the name Sound of Music. It adopted the Best Buy name in 1983, shifting its focus primarily to consumer electronics.

Best Buy's operations are concentrated mainly in the U.S. and Canada, having withdrawn from markets such as China (2011), Europe (2012), and Mexico (2020). Its portfolio includes subsidiaries like Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, and Pacific Sales, along with proprietary brands including Best Buy Mobile and Insignia. The retailer offers mobile devices from leading U.S. carriers such as Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, and T-Mobile, as well as Canadian providers like Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless, and Telus Mobility.

The company’s executive leadership features Hubert Joly as executive chairman and Corie Barry, who assumed the role of CEO in June 2019. Best Buy holds the distinction of being the largest specialty retailer within the American consumer electronics market. It secured the 72nd position on the 2018 Fortune 500 ranking based on total revenue.

By 2025, Best Buy operates 1,117 retail locations staffed by roughly 85,000 employees. The company reported revenues totaling US$41.5 billion, with operating income at US$1.26 billion and net income reaching US$927 million, marking a recent decline. Its business strategy combines retail sales with technology repair services and utilizes its subsidiaries to sustain a competitive edge throughout North America.

Early history

On August 22, 1966, Richard M. Schulze and a business partner inaugurated Sound of Music, an electronics outlet focused on high-fidelity stereo equipment in St. Paul, Minnesota. Schulze funded this venture through personal savings and by taking out a second mortgage on his residence. The following year, Sound of Music expanded by acquiring Kencraft Hi-Fi Company and Bergo Company. In its inaugural year, the enterprise achieved $1 million in sales and $58,000 in profit. By 1969, Schulze had purchased his partner’s share and was managing three stores.

By 1978, Sound of Music had grown to nine locations across Minnesota. In 1981, after a tornado caused significant damage to the Roseville store—the chain’s largest and most profitable location—Schulze initiated a "Tornado Sale." This event generated more revenue over four days than what was typically earned in an entire month. This innovative promotional approach laid the groundwork for Best Buy’s future business model.

In 1983, with seven stores generating $10 million annually, Sound of Music transitioned into Best Buy Company, Inc., broadening its product offerings to include home appliances and VCRs to appeal beyond its initial young male customer base. That same year saw the debut of Best Buy’s first superstore in Burnsville, Minnesota, which embraced a high-volume, low-price sales philosophy inspired by the success of the Tornado Sale. The Burnsville location surpassed the combined sales of all other stores during its first year.

Best Buy became a publicly traded company in 1985 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange by 1987. In 1988, amid competition from Detroit-based Highland Superstores, Schulze proposed selling Best Buy to Circuit City for $30 million; however, this offer was declined.

Also in 1988, Best Buy launched "Concept II" stores characterized by brighter interiors, open stock displays, reduced sales personnel numbers, and elimination of commissioned sales roles—creating a more relaxed shopping atmosphere that initially caused concern among suppliers such as Maytag and Sony. Despite early resistance, these suppliers returned as sales increased following Concept II's implementation.

By 1992, annual revenues at Best Buy reached $1 billion; during this period Highland Superstores filed for bankruptcy. In 1994, Best Buy introduced "Concept III" stores in emerging markets including Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., featuring larger store formats equipped with touchscreen kiosks for product information alongside demonstration areas for audio equipment and gaming products.

Expansion into New England occurred in 1998 with "Concept IV" stores showcasing open floor plans organized by product categories, multiple cash registers distributed throughout the store, slightly reduced store sizes compared to Concept III formats, and dedicated zones for home theater systems and software demonstrations.

In 1999, Best Buy was incorporated into the Standard & Poor's S&P 500 index, underscoring its increasing market presence and strong financial performance.

2000s

In 2000, Best Buy introduced Redline Entertainment, an independent label for music and distributor of action-sports videos. That December, the company expanded by acquiring Magnolia Hi-Fi, an audio-video retailer operating in California, Washington, and Oregon.

In January 2001, Best Buy acquired Musicland Stores Corporation for $425 million plus $271 million in debt. Musicland managed brands such as Sam Goody and Suncoast Motion Picture Company. Later that same year, Best Buy ventured into international markets by purchasing Future Shop Ltd., a British Columbia-based electronics chain, for approximately $377 million; Future Shop continued operations as an independent subsidiary under Best Buy Canada.

Brad Anderson replaced Richard Schulze as CEO in July 2002. Anderson, who began his career at Best Buy in 1973, had been serving as COO since 1991. In September 2002, the company launched its first Canadian-branded store located in Mississauga, Ontario. The following month, Best Buy acquired Geek Squad, a Minneapolis-based 24-hour residential computer repair service with offices in multiple major U.S. cities.

By 2003, the number of U.S. stores exceeded 600 locations, and Best Buy established its inaugural global sourcing office in Shanghai. In June of that year, Musicland was sold to Sun Capital Partners. July saw the introduction of the "Reward Zone" loyalty program after an eight-month trial period in San Diego. Additionally, corporate offices were consolidated into a single campus situated in Richfield, Minnesota.

At the start of 2004, Best Buy engaged Virtucom Group to redesign its website and online content. By May, it implemented a "customer centricity" strategy that categorized stores based on customer profiles instead of product lines. In October, Geek Squad precincts were deployed across all U.S. Best Buy stores.

In April 2005, responding to negative feedback regarding mail-in rebates, Best Buy shifted to providing instant rebates on notebook computers.

In May 2006, Best Buy purchased a majority interest in Jiangsu Five Star Appliance for $180 million; Five Star was then the fourth-largest appliance retailer in China with 193 outlets spanning eight provinces. Starting in June, Geek Squad precincts were also introduced within Office Depot locations.

January 2007 marked the debut of the first Best Buy-branded store in Shanghai. In March, Best Buy acquired Speakeasy, a Seattle-based VOIP and IT services provider, for $80 million; Speakeasy became a fully owned subsidiary integrated into the For Business program. That same month saw Geek Squad precincts expand into FedEx Kinkos stores. By October, Best Buy became the pioneer consumer electronics retailer to discontinue analog television sales ahead of FCC regulations.

In February 2008, Best Buy opened its initial store in Puerto Rico located in San Juan. By March, market tests involving Geek Squad at Office Depot and FedEx Kinkos concluded; concurrently, the company began advocating Blu-ray technology over HD DVD formats. In May, it agreed to acquire a 50% share of The Carphone Warehouse’s retail division for $2.1 billion to strengthen its mobile retail footprint in the UK.

In July 2008, Best Buy entered the musical instrument market across more than 80 stores, becoming the second-largest distributor of these products nationwide. That September, it became Apple’s first third-party iPhone retailer and agreed to acquire Napster for $121 million later that month. December saw the opening of Best Buy’s first store in Mexico.

February 2009 leveraged the partnership with The Carphone Warehouse to launch standalone Best Buy Mobile stores alongside dedicated sections within existing outlets.

Brian J. Dunn succeeded Brad Anderson as CEO in June 2009; Dunn started at Best Buy as a sales associate in 1985 and held various executive positions before becoming president in 2006.

In November 2009, Best Buy collaborated with Roxio's CinemaNow to introduce an on-demand streaming service accessible across its devices.

December 2009 marked the inauguration of Best Buy’s first store in Turkey located in İzmir.

2010s

Best Buy launched its inaugural UK-branded outlet in Thurrock in April 2010, eventually expanding to 11 stores before shuttering all locations by early 2012. In November 2011, Best Buy purchased The Carphone Warehouse's stake in Best Buy Mobile for $1.3 billion, while maintaining their joint venture that managed 2,500 mobile stores across Europe.

By February 2011, Best Buy withdrew from the Chinese market, merging its operations with Jiangsu Five Star, a subsidiary fully owned since 2009. Later that year, in December, the company acquired mindSHIFT Technologies for $167 million to broaden its IT support services targeting small and medium-sized enterprises.

Confronted with declining revenues in 2012, Best Buy initiated a "transformation strategy," revamping stores by centralizing Geek Squad service counters and incorporating "store-within-a-store" formats featuring Pacific Kitchen & Bath and Magnolia Design Center.

In April 2012, CEO Brian Dunn stepped down amid an investigation into misconduct. George L. Mikan III, a board member, assumed the role of interim CEO. The inquiry disclosed that founder and chairman Richard Schulze had knowledge of the situation but did not inform the board; Schulze subsequently resigned as chairman and was replaced by Director Hatim Tyabji.

Hubert Joly took over as CEO in September 2012, bringing strategic insights from his experience at Carlson Companies. His initiatives included implementing price matching policies, speeding up online order fulfillment, creating branded "store within a store" sections for Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung products, and enhancing employee training on product knowledge.

In April 2013, Best Buy exited the European consumer electronics sector by selling its 50% interest in The Carphone Warehouse back to the UK retailer for about $775 million.

Throughout the 2010s, Best Buy's revenue suffered due to the growth of online shopping. By mid-2014, sales had fallen for ten straight quarters. The company shifted its marketing emphasis from traditional outlets to digital platforms.

On March 28, 2015, Best Buy closed all Future Shop locations in Canada; 65 were converted into Best Buy stores while others were permanently closed.

On March 1, 2018, Best Buy announced it would shut down all 250 standalone Best Buy Mobile outlets in the United States because of low profitability and high operating costs; these stores represented only about 1% of total revenue.

On May 9, 2018, Best Buy updated its logo for the first time in nearly thirty years. Two months later, it significantly reduced physical retail space dedicated to music sales due to the impact of streaming services on CD purchases.

In April 2019, Chief Financial Officer Corie Barry was appointed CEO effective June 2019, succeeding Hubert Joly who transitioned to executive chairman. This leadership change marked a new chapter in Best Buy’s strategic growth and business direction.

2020s

Although computer equipment sales surged during the COVID-19 pandemic because of increased remote work demands, Best Buy laid off over 5,000 employees in early 2021 and reassigned many others to part-time positions.

In August 2022, the company announced widespread layoffs nationwide amid weaker sales performance and lowered its financial outlook for the remainder of the year.

On October 13, 2023, Best Buy revealed plans to discontinue physical home video sales by early 2024 in response to shifting consumer preferences toward streaming video-on-demand platforms.

In January 2024, BCE Inc. collaborated with Best Buy’s Canadian division to rebrand selected locations of The Source—originally RadioShack franchises—as Best Buy Express. These outlets operate under license by BCE and provide Bell wireless services while integrating inventory and e-commerce capabilities with Best Buy. The first store opened in Surrey, British Columbia in June 2024, with plans to convert a total of 167 locations by year-end while closing the remaining stores.

Best Buy announced intentions to relaunch its online marketplace for third-party sellers by summer 2025 through a partnership with Mirakl to develop the platform. This follows an earlier marketplace operation that ran from 2011 until 2016.

Business operations

Best Buy focuses on retailing consumer electronics and associated products, such as software, video games, smartphones, digital cameras, car audio systems, and household appliances like washers, dryers, and refrigerators. The company employs a sales approach that does not rely on commission-based incentives. Operating under the Geek Squad brand, Best Buy provides services including computer repairs, warranty coverage, and accidental damage protection plans. Additionally, it hosts an online forum designed to facilitate customer interaction and expert advice.

The exterior design of Best Buy stores is characterized by light brown walls complemented by a blue box-style entrance. Between 2005 and 2013, corporate staff worked within a results-only work environment (ROWE), a policy later discontinued by CEO Hubert Joly to better align with the organization's strategic leadership objectives.

As reported on October 29, 2016, Best Buy managed 1,026 Best Buy retail locations, 331 standalone Best Buy Mobile stores, and 28 Pacific Sales outlets across the United States. In Canada, the company operated 135 Best Buy stores alongside 53 Best Buy Mobile standalone shops; in Mexico, it ran 18 Best Buy stores and five Best Buy Express outlets. The company withdrew from the European market in April 2013 by divesting its stake back to its partner Carphone Warehouse.

House brands

Best Buy enhances its product offerings through eight proprietary house brands, broadening its market presence:

Dynex – Affordable electronics and computer accessories such as Blu-ray players, cables, HDTVs, office supplies, storage media, and webcams
Init – Solutions for media storage including equipment bags, totes, and home theater furniture
Insignia – Small appliances and electronic items including adapters, cables, HDTVs, mini refrigerators, and tablets
Magnolia Design Center (available in select locations) – Custom design and installation services for home theater systems
Magnolia Home Theater (available in select locations) – High-end audiovisual products including 4K/3D televisions, projectors, receivers, and speakers
Modal – Trendy mobile accessories like Bluetooth speakers, cables, and protective cases
Pacific Sales (available in select locations) – Premium appliances catering to upscale clientele
Platinum – Best Buy’s premium in-house brand featuring cables, accessories for cell phones and tablets, as well as digital imaging products
RocketFish – Home theater cables and gaming peripherals
RocketFish Mobile – Mobile device cases, chargers, and high-quality accessories

Warranty

In 2000, Best Buy was subject to a lawsuit accusing the company of deceptive sales tactics related to extended warranties or service plans. Plaintiffs alleged that employees misrepresented manufacturer warranties to encourage customers to purchase Best Buy’s own plans through aggressive sales methods and obstructive claim procedures. The case was resolved with a $200,000 settlement without any admission of guilt from Best Buy.

In 2014, the company consented to a $4.55 million settlement following a class-action lawsuit that addressed violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 due to unsolicited telemarketing calls.

Pricing

In the second quarter of 2007, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal initiated an inquiry into the company's deployment of in-store websites that allegedly misled consumers regarding promotional prices. Some customers mistakenly assumed they were accessing the online bestbuy.com platform but were instead viewing prices applicable only within the physical store. Company representative Sue Busch clarified that these kiosks were intended solely to verify product availability in-store and were not designed for price comparison purposes. As a result of the investigation, a notification banner was added to the in-store website to clearly distinguish pricing differences.

Analog televisions

On April 26, 2008, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission imposed a $280,000 penalty on the company for not adequately informing buyers that analog televisions purchased would lose over-the-air signal reception following the digital broadcast transition scheduled for June 12, 2009. The company challenged this penalty in May 2008, maintaining that it had adhered to FCC guidelines governing the digital transition.

Environmental issues

In 2007, Greenpeace criticized Best Buy for procuring materials associated with unethical deforestation practices in Canada’s taiga region. In response, the company introduced its Greener Together program aimed at improving product energy efficiency and minimizing consumer waste through initiatives such as recyclable packaging and responsible disposal of electronics like rechargeable batteries and ink cartridges.

To bolster its environmental standing, Best Buy launched a recycling initiative in 2009 that has since collected close to half a billion pounds of electronic waste from all stores for a nominal charge. These materials are processed by certified recyclers within the United States, with an ambitious target of reaching one billion pounds of recycled e-waste.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Best Buy as one of the top-50 purchasers of green power. In 2011, the company acquired nearly 119 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy derived from various sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass, and low-impact hydropower.

FBI collaboration

To aid in combating child pornography, the FBI enlisted several Geek Squad employees from Best Buy to discreetly identify potential offenders. In one instance, a customer’s computer was flagged for containing illicit content and reported to federal authorities. Although charges were initially filed, the case was dismissed after a judge ruled that much of the evidence was inadmissible due to misleading statements made by an FBI agent during the warrant process, resulting in prosecutors dropping all charges.

Privacy

On October 20, 2023, a Marketplace investigation conducted by CBC News uncovered that certain Best Buy technicians accessed private customer files without authorization, including sensitive photographs. One technician was discovered copying images onto a USB flash drive, sparking concerns about data privacy and security within repair service operations.

LGBT issues

In March 2024, under pressure from conservative shareholder factions, Best Buy consented to limit employee resource group donations to eight LGBT organizations that support gender-affirming care for transgender minors. This move attracted criticism from advocacy groups such as GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign, underscoring ongoing conflicts between corporate social responsibility commitments and shareholder demands.

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