Samsung has thrown down another gauntlet in its battle with Apple. This time, the Korean electronics giant is going head-to-head with Apple stores by opening retail boutiques, called ‘Samsung Experience Shops,’ in 1,400 Best Buy locations by the beginning of June. Stores will start operating in all of Best Buy’s big-box stores by May 1 and at smaller stores by June 1, around the… → Read More
Samsung will reportedly be launching Samsung Stores in select Best Buy locations ahead of the Galaxy S4′s U.S. launch, a new report from Geek.com claims. The new sections, which will occupy spots close to the mobile department, will feature Samsung branding throughout and highlight a number of Samsung products, not just the upcoming Galaxy S4, though that flagship device will be the core focus. → Read More
It’s getting more tempting to give away used goods on Listia, the marketplace startup backed by Y Combinator and Andreessen Horowitz (among others), thanks to a new partnership with Best Buy.
When you give away “old stuff” on Listia, you earn points, which can be redeemed for items that other users are giving away, as well as new goods offered through the company’s rewards store. Those rewards… → Read More
Leap Motion, makers of the innovative Leap Motion controller for PCs, today announced that at launch, it will sell its device exclusively through Best Buy’s physical and online stores in the U.S., as the only other sales channel for the device besides its own website. Leap Motion will also be available soon for pre-order from Best Buy beginning in February, and will come to Europe and other world… → Read More
We don’t know much about how successful Google’s Chromebooks really are. Outside of talking about their adoption in schools and businesses, Google has never released any detailed sales figures. Most analysts assume they aren’t exactly a run-away hit. That hasn’t stopped Google from pushing forward with this initiative in the past, though, and this holiday season is no exception. Not only is Google… → Read More
By raise of hands, who goes to Best Buy to try something they intend to buy on Amazon or Newegg? Everyone? In what could be the retailer’s smartest move in years, Best Buy intends to match the prices of online retailers including Amazon this holiday season.
The word comes from the WSJ which reports Best Buy is attempting to increase store’s close rate by preventing showrooming. The retailer… → Read More
Best Buy just released its fiscal Q2 2013 earnings a few moments ago (one day after announcing its new CEO no less), and it looks like the company’s financial woes aren’t over just yet.
The beleaguered electronics retailer reported total revenues of $10.55 billion (down roughly 3% from the year-ago quarter) and adjusted operating income of $124 million, which breaks down to non-GAAP earnings… → Read More
Best Buy has been navigating some rough seas lately, but it would seem the company has finally found the skipper it’s been looking for. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier today that Best Buy has hired former Carlson CEO Hubert Joly to take over the CEO position from placeholder Mike Mikan.
Joly is slated to begin his tenure at the Minnesota-based company in September — he’s still… → Read More
From the outside, we early adopters see Best Buy as a dinosaur in a dying world. The company recently announced the closing of 50 stores in the U.S. and 400 layoffs, mostly in corporate. It would be easy to say “Good riddance” and ignore the slow decline of bricks and mortar, but I wanted to speak to someone inside the company.
I got a hold of a manager who wished to remain anonymous and was… → Read More
TechCrunch’s Best Buy tag isn’t exactly a heartening place to visit. In the last few months, it “stole Christmas,” been “finished,” and is now “going out of business.” Dire straits indeed for a company that has defied the odds not only against big retail competition but against deadlier online opponents as well for nearly 50 years.
But an announcement today seems to give a little weight to the… → Read More
Sometimes it’s the quiet ones who end up doing the most damage. I always thought of Larry Downes, the co-author of the mega-selling Unleashing the Killer App, as an unusually gentle and wise soul. But this was before Downes unleashed his all-too-critical powers on Best Buy, transforming himself from a cerebral author into a bomb throwing critic of America’s leading consumer electronics retailer. → Read More
I was just reading over the excellent (and long) story about Best Buy at Forbes and wondered, in light of today’s B&N announcement to pull the Nook financials out of their sinking brick-and-mortar business, whether stores like Best Buy and media giants like B&N need to exist at all.
First, before we begin, let’s talk about the Forbes’ article’s money shot:
But the numbers only… → Read More
“I wouldn’t touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.”
There’s a bit of inherent risk when shopping online. You’re handing over your credit card to a retailer that promises to ship you something in return. Most of the time transactions are completed without issue and orders are fulfilled as promised. Sometimes things go awry, though. And sometimes Best Buy ruins Christmas.
Best… → Read More
Be careful, the Kindle Fire is hot. Burning up you might say. Get it? Because it’s the Fire? Never mind…
Amazon’s first foray into the tablet world seems to be a runaway success. The Fire has occupied the top spot on Amazon’s best sellers list for weeks even prior to the device shipping. Now, at Best Buy, the $199 Fire sits higher the 16GB iPad as the top selling tablet on the retailer’s… → Read More
Apple Stores are awesome places to shop. All the latest Apple products are on tables, just waiting to be used and abused. The employees are generally very knowledgeable and they tend to let shoppers wander without pestering (they have an app for that). Oh, and the free tech support at the Genius Bar is, well, genius. The techs don’t try to sell unknowing customers surge protectors or gold-plated… → Read More
It’s the age old tale. Company makes phone. Company codenames phone (sometimes multiple times). Company dabbles back and forth between a couple names before ultimately choosing the wrong one (*cough* HTC ChaCha *cough*). Retailer changes the name of the phone anyway, usually back to the better name (but sometimes to a ridiculously long and uselessly vague name). Happily ever after.
Today the… → Read More
Best Buy this morning announced its acquisition of mindSHIFT Technologies, which provides managed IT, cloud, data center and other professional services to small and mid-sized businesses all across the United States, for $167 million. mindSHIFT is said to serve more than 5,400 clients and 25,000 managed desktops nationwide. → Read More
Here’s one to file under “completely unexpected” — remember HP’s long-dead TouchPad? Well, apparently it’s got some life it in yet, as Best Buy will be allowing their customers to purchase a 32GB model for $149 so long as they buy an HP computer at the same time.
The deal starts on November 1, and I suspect Best Buy and HP will be hyping it like crazy next week. This whole thing begs a far… → Read More
Social mobile app directory Appolicious is announcing a major new partner today—Best Buy. The consumer electronics retail giant is launching the Best Buy App Discovery Center, an Appolicious-powered mobile app directory designed to make it easier for consumers to locate and find recommended iOS and Android apps.
On the new platform users can search for apps that are organized into more than… → Read More
Best Buy today announced that it will be offering the iPhone 4S, with in-store pre-orders available now and availability beginning October 14.
Just like at Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, and Apple, the iPhone 4S will cost $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB model, and $399 for the 64GB model. All three carriers offering the 4S will be represented. → Read More
We reported earlier this week that Staples and Office Depot are running sales promotions for the ailing BlackBerry PlayBook, and today another big-box retailer has jumped into the fray. CNET reports that Best Buy has begun to sell all models of the PlayBook with a hefty $200 discount.
That price break brings RIM’s 16GB model down to $299, the 32GB model to $399, and the 64GB model to $499. → Read More
It was widely reported that Best Buy was sitting on over 200,000 TouchPads before HP enacted their drastic price cut, but the fire sale has come and gone, and that would normally be that. Instead, a notice in Best Buy’s Employee Toolkit system shows that their contentious relationship with the TouchPad may not be over just yet. → Read More
If you’re one of those folks who doesn’t need the latest and greatest, it may tickle your fancy to know that Best Buy is giving away the iPhone 3GS.
The sale will only last through today, and is only available to customers signing a new two-year contract with AT&T or renewing their contract. → Read More
Best Buy and Samsung are going to move a few more Galaxy Tabs next week. Starting on Sunday, if you buy a top-tier Samsung 3D HDTV for $1500 or $2000, you’ll also go home with a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. So, in other words, if you buy an over-hyped HDTV, Best Buy is going to unload a GalTab on you. Sounds great for the buyer, but the one-week promotion speaks volumes about the current state of the… → Read More
Citi and Best Buy have teamed up to launch a mobile rewards application for iPhone and Android devices. The “Citi ThankYou Rewards” app ties together Best Buy’s inventory systems with Citi’s “ThankYou” Rewards program, a service which allows Citi customers to earn points by using their Citi credit card or performing other banking-related activities.
Now, Citi customers can use the new mobile… → Read More
Less than two weeks ago, Sprint cut the price of its Google Nexus S 4G by half to just $99 on-contract. That had me pink in the cheek with barely controlled glee, so you can only imagine my reaction when I saw that both Best Buy and Amazon were offering the device for free (and nearly free).
Best Buy promises all the Google phone you can handle for free as long as you sign on for a two-year… → Read More
Well, this is… interesting.
It looks like AT&T customers are finally getting an easy, subsidized way to get a Samsung Nexus S that plays friendly with the right 3G frequencies: beginning on July 24th (with pre-orders going up today), the handset will be going for $99 on a 2-year contract exclusively at Best Buy. → Read More
SupportSpace, which helps companies provide remote technical support with a range of customer service solutions and a network of ‘experts’, has raised $12 million in funding from Gemini, BRM and Emergence Capital. The round brings the startup’s total funding raised to nearly $37 million. → Read More
The most novel part of the HTC Flyer is the Scribe Digital Pen. But HTC doesn’t bundle the pen with the Android 2.3 tablet. Why? The company clearly wants the tablet to fail. Instead, the stylus costs an additional $80. It seems that Best Buy is ready to right HTC’s wrong by selling the two together. NetbookNews found the bundle (SKU 9999159200050028) but it’s sort of buggy right… → Read More
Another day, another sold-out Mac product that points to a refresh. This time Best Buy is the culprit, noting that current MBA notebooks are not shipping from its stores. This usually means that a refresh is coming within the next few days and is most probably a minor upgrade of little interest to the average user but that will piss people off who just bought an MBA in the last week to no end. → Read More
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