The move is part of the strategy to save the company an estimated $800 million over the next three years and gain back marketshare. Best Buy’s already laid off 400 employees and will close 50 underperforming outlets and convert another 60 to this new, smaller space.
The smaller footprint will allow BBY to display fewer big screen TVs and highlight a carefully edited selection of better selling items such as tablets and mobile phones.
In addition to the revamped product mix, the new format dubbed "Best Buy 2.0" by its interim CEO Mike Mikan, has gotten a floorplan makeover. The test store has several check out stations rather than the bulky front of store lines, in addition to the slimmed-down product mix. However, the biggest change is Solution Central, a nerve center for customer service staffed with Geek Squad’s “counter intelligence agents.”
The focus on Geeks seems at odds with Best Buy's latest news, though. Station KARE just reported that the company will be laying off 650 Geek Squad employees nationwide. That's a fraction of the company's approximately 20,000 technicians who offer support, installation and repair services around the clock.
Best Buy’s continued efforts at streamlining and cost-cutting mean that these workers who were responsible for repairs and in-home installations would be eliminated. Best Buy’s not totally relinquishing the service. According to a statement for KARE, Best Buy said, "We know that clients will always need us to come to their homes, and increasingly their needs are more complex. That's why we're evolving in-home support for a more specific customer segment.”
Amid these fits and starts, Best Buy’s search for a new CEO continues while its founder Richard Schulze (who resigned as chairman of the board in June) is said to be considering taking the company private. Meanwhile, Best Buy’s stock price continues to take a hit. It’s down .09% to $21.65 this morning.
