Best Buy Strategy

Management
MGMT 590 - Strategy Management
Mukerji, Chiranjiv
Shiach, Euan
Surapolchai, Promporn
Szafron, Jessica
Wu, Meng-Yin
Monica
Yang, Chao-Yu
Best Buy is the largest electronics retailer in the US. In recent years the direct
competition in the form of ircuit ity has !een remo"ed and yet stoc# prices
continue to fall. $hy% Bad strategy. Management has loo#ed to restructuring of the
!ig !o& stores for sal"ation and the analysts aren't !uying. They'"e seen this
approach from Best Buy !efore and !een disappointed. The de(nition of insanity is
doing the same thing o"er and o"er and yet e&pecting di)erent results. Through our
strategy proposal the *rongs *ill !e righted and pre"ious failures corrected. Best
Buy *ill compete *ith +ma,on for the (rst time and stop surrendering mar#et
Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
share. There is life in the old dinosaur yet- and *e *ill sho* you *here- ho*- and
*hen.
Conens
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E$ising Markeplace
Compan! 'vervie(
Best Buy o.- Inc. 23+S4+56 BB78 together *ith its su!sidiaries is one of the *orld's
leading companies that operates as a retailer of consumer electronics- home o9ce
products- entertainment soft*are- appliances and related ser"ices in the United
States- anada- hina- :urope and Me&ico. It controls retail stores and *e!sites
under ;; !rand names6 Best Buy- <i"e Star +ppliances- <uture Shop- Gee# S=uad-
Magnolia +udio >ideo- The arphone $arehouse- Best Buy Mo!ile- +udio"isions-
3apster- 0aci(c Sales and Spea#easy. Its stores sell a "ariety of electronic gadgets-
mo"ies- music- computers- mo!ile phones- and appliances. ?n the ser"ices side- it
o)ers installation and maintenance- technical support- and su!scriptions for mo!ile
phone and Internet ser"ices. Best Buy currently has a!out ;@A-000 employees
*orld*ide 2Source6 Boo"ers- Best Buy o.- Inc. 0ro(le8.
Curren *inancial 'vervie(
Belie"ing that past performance is only a !ase to future success and not a
guarantee due to changing mar#et conditions- *e need to analy,e Best Buy's
current (nancial strategy and strength !y loo#ing at some of its #ey indicators o"er
the past 5 years. Speci(cally *e *ill loo# at historic and current Ce"enue- 3et
Income- 3et 0ro(t Margins- along *ith the num!er of :mployees on sta)6
4a2le "7 *inancial 'vervie(
Year
0evenue 89
M:
;e 1ncome
89 M:
;e Pro<
Margin
Emplo!e
es
*e2-
")
50-A05.00 -;-.1;.00 -- ;@A-000
*e2-
""
50-.A..00 ;-.AA.00 ..5DE ;F0-000
*e2-
"/
D9-@9D.00 ;-1;A.00 ..@5E ;F0-000
*e2-
/=
D5-0;5.00 ;-001.00 ...1E ;55-000
*e2-
/5
D0-0.1.00 ;-D0A.00 1.5.E ;50-000
D / 0 a g e
Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
*e2-
/-
15-91D.00 ;-1AA.00 1.F1E ;D0-000
2Boo"erGs- .0;.8
*igure "7 *inancial 'vervie(
2Boo"erGs- .0;.8
In (scal .0;. Best Buy reported a net loss of H;.. !illion compared to net
earnings of H;.1 !illion in (scal .0;;. The .0;. net loss *as primarily due to the
!uyout of Best Buy Mo!ile for H;.1 !illion- *hich ga"e it full o*nership of the fast-
gro*ing US mo!ile phone Ioint "enture from British partner The arphone
$arehouse 2T$8. Ce"enue in .0;. increased only a!out .E o"er the prior year
!ecause of the net addition of .15 ne* stores in (scal .0;.- an e&tra *ee# of
re"enue from domestic and anadian stores- and fa"ora!le currency e&change rate
Juctuations 2Boo"erGs- .0;.8.
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Through analy,ing 5 years of (nancial data- *e see that e"en *ith aggressi"e
e&pansion- Best Buy has only seen a marginal gro*th in re"enue and 3et income.
<urthermore there has !een a continuing decline in the net pro(t margin and that
has only !egun to le"el o) in the last . years. The small increase in re"enue *as
partially o)set !y a ;.AE decline in compara!le store sales.
*igure )7 0evenue Mi$
2Buy- .0;.8
0lease note the onsumer :lectronics 2including T>s- 4>4 players- and audio
systems8 and Bome ?9ce 2computers- ta!lets and mo!ile phone products8 together
generated A.E of Best BuyGs sales for the year in !oth the domestic and
international segments 2Buy- .0;.8. The +ppliances 2including Kitchen oo#ers-
Cefrigerators- and $ashing Machines8 only contri!uted @E to re"enues in
comparison.
Best Buy has gro*n o"er the years through ac=uisitions and that continues to
!e a #ey component of its strategy today. Best Buy has e&panded its customer
reach *ithin the US mar#et through ac=uisitions that pro"ide it greater access to
ne* types of customers. The company has also e&panded into international
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Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
mar#ets 2anada- hina- :urope8 o"er the years and Best Buy's international
!usiness is e&pected to !e increasingly important going for*ard. Most of these
ac=uisitions ha"e !een carried out using cash due to positi"e cash Jo*s from
operations. This ensures that the company utili,es its e&cess cash and manages its
de!t capacity. Best Buy's de!t to e=uity ratio of 5D.;5E is relati"ely high compared
to the selected competitors. ?nly $al-Mart had a higher de!t to e=uity ratio at
A..@9E. The primary reason that Best Buy's de!t to e=uity ratio is higher than its
competitors is due to its aggressi"e e&pansion plans 2In"estopedia- .0;;8.
The company reported pre-ta& restructuring charges totaling H... million in
.0;; 2Buy- .0;.8. These charges are to*ards plans to restructure its international
operations in order to enhance returns and to dri"e supply chain e9ciencies in its
4omestic segment. These restructuring costs are yet to sho* their e)ects on either
the top-line as *ell as the !ottom line for !est !uy.
In .0;.- Best Buy announced HF00 Million Multiyear ost Ceductions !y (scal
.0;5 in order achie"e higher e9ciency and to lo*er its cost !ase 2Buy- .0;.8. Some
speci(c actions intended to lo*er costs are e&pected to include the closure of 50
U.S. Best Buy !ig !o& stores in (scal .0;1- cost sa"ings in corporate and support
structure from IT ser"ices sa"ings- procurement sa"ings on non-merchandise
purchases- a reduction in outside consultant ser"ices and reduction of
appro&imately D00 positions in our corporate and support areas. Sa"ings in cost of
goods sold dri"en !y reduction of product transition costs- lo*er product return and
e&change e&penses and supply chain e9ciencies.
0eemergence of 0ichar, Schulze
+ #ey management de"elopment in .0;. sa* Best Buy founder Cichard
Schul,e lea"e the organi,ation he founded D0 years ago. Bo*e"er- *ithin . months
of his departure- he *as granted access to perform certain due diligence along *ith
pri"ate e=uity sponsors in furtherance of ma#ing a fully (nanced proposal to re-
ac=uire Best Buy. Cichard Schul,e is the companyGs largest shareholder *ith a .0E
sta#e in Best Buy 2Buy- .0;.8. $ith the pre"ailing negati"e mar#et sentiment on
Best Buy and its current !usiness model- Schul,e's return has raised =uestions
a)ecting stoc# performance. Through our analysis *e ha"e determined that this !uy
!ac# should !e resisted. ?ther than the :?'s !eing out of a Io!- there is no
competiti"e ad"antage in ta#ing the company pri"ate. Schul,e has not pu!lically
pro"ided a strategy to turn around a company that has steadily declined o"er the
last se"eral years under his *atch. There e&ists a ne* generation of retailers
competing !oth online and in !ric# and mortar outlets that *ere pre"iously foreign
to Schul,e. $e don't !elie"e . months o) has !rought any insight or clarity to the
situation. In addition- Schul,e disagrees *ith current cost restructuring strategies
and has !een "er!ally un*illing to reduce in si,e !ig !o& stores *hich continue to
hemorrhage cash. <inally- if a pleasing strategy is announced to the pu!lic and
Schul,e pulls a ;F0 on the approach to restructuring- *ell then the =uestion of
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funding still remains. Schul,e's capa!ility for funding HF.F !illion is not clear and
could simply !e a strategy to distract management.
Managemen 0esrucuring
+s part of the departure of Schul,e and restructuring of the management
team- there ha"e !een t*o #ey ac=uisitions6 Bu!ert Loly and Sharon Mcollam. >ery
recently- Best Buy named arlson e&ecuti"e Bu!ert Loly as chief e&ecuti"e- hoping
to tap his e&pertise in restructuring companies to turn around the *orldGs largest
consumer electronics chain. Loly is credited *ith the successful restructuring of
se"eral + list companies such as >i"endi and :4S. To further enhance restructuring
e&pertise- Best Buy hired former $illiams-Sonoma hief <inancial ?9cer Sharon
Mcollam as <?. +s the *orldGs largest consumer-electronics retailer see#s to
reduce its store count and strengthen its online operations Mcollam's e&perience
*ill !e in"alua!le. $hile at $illiams-Sonoma- Mcollam helped reduce the San
<rancisco-!ased home-goods retailerGs s=uare footage A percent from .00F to .0;;
*hile !oosting sales ;; percent. $illiams-Sonoma started se"eral e-commerce
*e!sites *hile Mcollam *as <? and chief operating o9cer and impro"ed its
supply chain !oth of *hich are #ey strategy suggestions for Best Buy.
Share 0epurchase an, >ivi,en,s
In Lune .0;;- the Board authori,ed a ne* H5.0 !illion share repurchase
program. In (scal .0;.- Best Buy repurchased and retired 5D.@ million shares at a
cost of H;.5 !illion- *hile they repurchased and retired 1..@ million shares at a cost
of H;.. !illion in (scal .0;;. $e !elie"e this strategy should !e continued as it *ill
help Best Buy in three *ays6 Increase :arnings 0er Share- Maintain a lean cash
position- and pro"ide ta&-e9cient distri!ution of earnings. <irstly- *hen a company
repurchases its o*n shares- it reduces the num!er of shares held !y the pu!lic. The
reduction of the Joat- or pu!licly traded shares- means that e"en if pro(ts remain
the same- the earnings per share increase. Secondly- Best Buy *ith its strong cash
generation can !ecome an attracti"e target for ta#eo"er 2i.e. Schul,e8- since the
cash can !e used to pay do*n the de!t incurred to carry out the ac=uisition. The
share repurchases !olster the stoc# price- ma#ing a ta#eo"er more e&pensi"e and
therefore less li#ely. <inally- Share repurchases also allo*s companies to co"ertly
distri!ute their earnings to in"estors *ithout inJicting them *ith ta&ation *hich is
an e9cient method of o"erall ta& reduction and easy *ay to !uild loyal- long-term
in"estors.
In regards to di"idends the !oard of directors of Best Buy regularly authori,es
payment of a cash di"idend. The company has 11@-5.9-A1. shares of common
stoc# issued and outstanding as of +ugust D- .0;.. This once again is an indication
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Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
of healthy cash Jo* 2Buy- .0;.8. <or in"estors the cash di"idend is a source of
attraction and comfort.
+n,ersan,ing he Markeplace
0ivalr! ?mong E$ising Compeiors
Since the li=uidation of Best Buy's direct ri"al ircuit ity in .009- Best Buy
has ac=uired a relati"ely high le"el of internal ri"alry from many indirect
competitors in the consumer electronics industry. The top (fty companies account
for se"enty percent of sales in the industry- ma#ing the consumer electronics
mar#et relati"ely concentrated 2Boo"erGs- .0;.8. Best Buy's competition main
competition can !e di"ided up into four maIor categories. These include direct retail
competitors such as ircuit ity 2out of !usiness8- CadioShac#- and hhgregg-
discount retailers such as ostco- $al-Mart- and Target- online retailers such as
eBay.com and +ma,on.com- o9ce supply stores such as Staples- ?9ce 4epot- and
?9ce Ma&- as *ell as a "ariety of smaller retailers- such as those found online
2K*o#- .0098. Bome impro"ement stored such as Mo*e's and Bome 4epot can also
!e considered as its o*n distinct competitor group- !ut *ill !e neglected here since
appliance sales do not ma#e up a signi(cant portion of sales for Best Buy.
Three of Best Buy's largest competitors currently include $al-Mart- +pple Inc.-
and +ma,on.com 2Boo"erGs- .0;.8. +part from competitors such as hhgregg- it is
di9cult to compare Best Buy to many of these indirect competitors !ecause many
of them carry a su!stantial "ariety of products outside of the realm of consumer
electronics and appliances and therefore cannot !e !ro#en do*n according to the
sales of di)erent product categories. <or e&ample- in .0;;- $al-Mart's annual sales
*ere HDD@.95 !illion- follo*ed !y +pple at H;0F..5 !illion- then !y Best Buy at
H50.A; !illion- and (nally !y +ma,on.com at HDF.0F !illion 2Boo"erGs- .0;.8. :"en if
the sale of consumer electronic products accounted for only a small percentage of
$al-Mart o"erall annual sales- it *ould still !e a signi(cant num!er- particularly
considering they- li#e +ma,on.com and many others- are not solely in the retail
electronics industry. In addition- it is important to note that the consumer electronic
and appliance products found at Best Buy and amongst its competitors are not
di)erentiated. In other *ords- consumers can (nd similar if not identical products at
any of these stores or retailers. +s such- retailers must compete in other areas- such
as customer ser"ice and price 2K*o#- .0098. <urthermore- it is a *ell-#no*n fact
that consumers use consumer electronic stores such as Best Buy to physically see
and test a product prior to ordering that product online at a typically cheaper price.
Thus- competition !et*een online and !ric# and mortar retailers is !ecoming
increasingly (erce.
4hrea of Su2siue Pro,ucs
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Because Best Buy's products consist mainly of consumer electronics and
home appliances- there is a "ery lo* threat that there *ill !e su!stitute products
that *ill ta#e mar#et share a*ay from this retail mar#et. There is e"er increasing
reliance on technology and electronic products in today's mar#et- and according to
US+ Today- the popularity of smartphones and consumer ta!lets alone is
dramatically !oosting sales in the consumer electronics industry. Sales of consumer
electronics are predicted to gro* !y 5.9E in .0;. from the pre"ious year to o"er
H.00 !illion. <urthermore- according to the +ssociation of Bome +ppliance
Manufacturers 2+B+M8- nearly e"ery household in the U.S. o*ns a refrigerator and
sto"e- and *ith many others also o*ning *ashers and dryers 2Boo"erGs- .0;.8.
Thus- it is unli#ely a su!stitute product *ill ta#e the place of these products in the
near future. In terms of consumer electronics- if loo#ing at these products from the
point of "ie*ing as !eing leisure time products- only a fe* su!stitute products
*ould !e e"en remotely considered threats such as !oo#s- maga,ines- and possi!ly
e"en outdoor e=uipment. If this *ere the case- then retailers such as Barnes and
3o!le- Borders- and 4ic#'s Sporting Goods *ould represent the largest threat.
Bo*e"er- there are currently no products that can ser"e as direct su!stitutes for
electronics and appliances at the current point in time.
4hrea of ;e( Enrans
The o"erall threat of ne* entrants for Best Buy can !e considered fairly lo*.
The most nota!le threats of ne* entrants that e&ists is manufacturer stores opening
up that directly sell the manufacturers' consumer electronics- *ith the maIor point
in case !eing +pple- *ho has rose to !ecome one of Best Buy's largest competitors
in recent years. ?ther nota!le threats include the threat of other retail giants
!eginning their o*n consumer electronics departments- as maIor retailers such as
$al-Mart and ostco has also pro"ed in recent years- as *ell as the potential threat
of mail order retailers. +lthough these threats are of course not negligi!le- they
should not !e considered maIor reasons for concern at the current point in time. The
main reason for this has to do *ith signi(cant !arriers to entry- such as the large
amount of up-front capital needed to enter the mar#et- technological needs- as *ell
as the fact that the consumer electronics is a fairly saturated mar#et *ith maIor
competition as it is- ma#ing it di9cult for a ne* up and coming company to
compete. In terms of direct !ric# and mortar ne* entrants in particular- the !arriers
to entry can to considered to !e signi(cantly high !ecause of the massi"e
o"erheard and property costs alone. Thus- for the threat of ne* entrants that does
e&ists- that threat *ould most li#ely come from internet !ased retailers. <inally-
another factor that can !e "ie*ed as an additional !arrier to entry is the reputations
that ne* entrants *ould ha"e to !uild in order to compete *ith current competitors
2K*o#- .0098. Ceputation is a signi(cant factor to consider *hen discussing the
sales of often high-priced consumer electronics and appliances- and is de(nitely
something that retailers such as Best Buy- $al-Mart- +pple- and +ma,on.com ha"e
esta!lished for themsel"es o"er the years in the eyes of the consumer.
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Bargaining Po(er of Suppliers
Since there are many suppliers in the industry- including maIor manufacturers
such as Samsung- Toshi!a- Sony- and 0anasonic- Best Buy needs to purchase these
suppliers' products in order to stay competiti"e and satisfy its customers. Best Buy
relies hea"ily on suppliers due to the fact that 19E of Best Buy merchandises come
from ("e maIor suppliers- *hich are +pple- Samsung- Be*lett-0ac#ard- Sony- and
Toshi!a. +lthough Best Buy is a maIor player in consumer electronic- there are many
retailers such as hhgregg- CadioShac#- $al-Mart and Target- including online
retailers such as +ma,on and eBay- that are also rely on these suppliers that implies
lo* s*itching cost of suppliers. Moreo"er- though Best Buy o)ers its house !rand
such as Insignia T>- Best Buy still has a limited a!ility to do !ac#*ard integration
since it re=uires a huge capital and technological e&pertise. This means that
suppliers ha"e high !argaining po*er o"er Best Buy.
Bo*e"er- e"en though most of consumer electronic suppliers ha"e their o*n
stores and also online stores- they still need retailers to store their products on
shel"es 2K*o#- .0098 !ecause retailer is the most e)ecti"e channel for customers to
see and test the electronic products. +dditionally- Best Buy is one of maIor players
in the industryN it has o"er ;-000 stores in US and o"er .-000 international stores-
Best Buy purchases signi(cant proportion of products from suppliers. If suppliers
increase their prices or reduce product =uality- they *ill lose a lot of re"enues from
Best Buy. onse=uently- the o"erall !argaining po*er of suppliers in consumer
electronic retail industry is moderate.
Bargaining Po(er of Bu!ers
<or Best Buy- most of all the consumers are direct consumers that are *ea#
and fragmented. 2K*o#- .0098 + !uyer's purchase "olume is usually lo*. Since Best
Buy has a large num!er of consumers- it does not depend on each one of the
consumers. Mosing one of the customers *ill not a)ect its re"enue. Therefore- no
!uyer has any particular inJuence on products or prices. <urthermore- Best Buy
product represents only a small e&pense for its consumers. They *ill not put any
e)ort negotiating *ith the retailer to lo*er price and ha"e a competition !et*een
them for the product. Buyers ha"e no a!ility to integrate !ac#*ard !ecause there is
impossi!le for them to !uild their o*n electronic consumer retailers or produce their
o*n electronic products. +ll these suggest that !uyers ha"e "ery lo* !argaining
po*er.
?n the other hand- there are some factors that increased the !argaining
po*er of consumers. 4ue to a lot of consumer electric retailers in the mar#et-
including discounted retailer and particularly online retailers- !uyers- *hich usually
are price sensiti"e and concern a!out product =uality- ha"e more options to choose
*here to !uy. onsumers *ill (nd the possi!le lo*est price and purchase the
product there since Best Buy's merchandises are undi)erentiated from competitors'.
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It is easy for consumers to s*itch to competitors' products- *hich means they ha"e
lo* s*itching cost. Bence- the !argaining po*er of !uyers in the consumer electric
mar#et is moderate due to the fact that a stronger competition !et*een retailers
*ithin the industry has increased the !argaining po*er of !uyers.
In the case of Best Buy as a !uyer of consumer electronic product- Best Buy
is considered a retailer rather than indi"idual. Best Buy has higher !argaining po*er
o"er suppliers !ecause Best Buy's purchases from suppliers are relati"ely large
portion of suppliers' !usiness. Mosing one retailer consumer li#e Best Buy is
de(nitely critical to them. There are also many choices of suppliers for Best Buy to
purchase. +lthough Best Buy loses some !argaining po*er to suppliers due to more
intense competition !et*een retailers- it still has strong and positi"e relationship
*ith suppliers and is a!le to negotiate for price and product =uality.
Curren Markeing Mi$
Pro,uc
Best Buy is a multi-!rand store that carries most maIor !rands across the
follo*ing categories onsumer electronics 2T>s- 4>4 players- and audio systems8
and Bome ?9ce 2computers- ta!lets and mo!ile phone products8-
:ntertainmentOSoft*are 24>4's- Games- utility soft*are's8 P +ppliances 2$ashers-
4ryers- Cefrigerators8. +s pre"iously highlighted- onsumer :lectronics P Bome
?9ce contri!ute A.E of total re"enue *hile appliances contri!uting appro&imately
@E of total re"enue 2Buy- .0;.8. Best Buy generally focuses on o)ering a !road
selection of !rand-name products to consumers. MaIor suppliers include +pple-
Samsung- Be*lett-0ac#ard- Sony- and Toshi!a- *hich together account for D0E of
total merchandise purchased !y Best Buy 2Boo"erGs- .0;.8.
Promoion
Best Buy ran#s as the 5@th-largest ad"ertiser in the U.S.- *ith H@@@.5 million
ad spending- including !oth measured and unmeasured media- according to +d
+geGs 4atacenter 2***.adage.com- .0;08. Best Buy has adopted a customer centric
approach *here it has ta#en time to understand its customers and their needs and
then started selling solutions instead of products. +s part of its research- Best Buy
has disco"ered that 55 percent of its customers *ere *omen- and that for the most
part they loathed their shopping e&perience at the retailer. Men loo# for a speci(c
product at a discount price. $omen *ant not Iust a digital camera- !ut a printer-
ca!le- and other accessories--and they care far more a!out these things than price.
:=ually important- they *ant help *ith installation- *hile most men prefer to try to
put things together themsel"es. Best BuyGs concept of customer centricity *as
con(guring its stores to ser"e the needs of the particular customer segments that
predominated in the area of each store.
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Price
Best Buy is unli#ely o"ercome its pricing disad"antage. Best Buy- *ith its
higher cost structure- cannot compete on price. $ith the proliferation of technology-
it is easy for shoppers to (nd cheaper prices for Best Buy's commodity products.
?nline retailers are also getting increasingly sophisticated- ena!ling e"en !etter
online shopping e&periences and faster ful(llment. ustomer !eha"ior *ill change
to Best Buy's disad"antage- as shoppers !ecome more comforta!le *ith online-only
shopping. This might not matter for small items for *hich there might !e some
urgent need- !ut customers *ill surely ta#e the time to research prices for the !ig
tic#et items upon *hich Best Buy's success depends. +s per the internal
restructuring plans- Best Buy *ill Qright si,e' their stores impro"e cost structures.
Bo*e"er- it *ill !e "ery di9cult to compete *ith pure online players such as
+ma,on.com.
>isri2uion
Best Buy and its su!sidiaries operate more than ;-;50 stores- domestically
and internationally. The company operates ;-0;0 Best Buy Stores- ;1 Magnolia
+udio >ideo Stores 2speciali,ing in high-end electronics8- A stand-alone Gee# S=uad
stores- 1 +udio->isions Stores- ;1 Best Buy Mo!ile Stores 2standalone8 and ;A 0aci(c
Sales stores 2in Southern alifornia- +ri,ona- and 3e"ada8- all through the U.S. They
also operate 5; Best Buy and ;D0 <uture Shop stores throughout anada. In
addition- the company operates o"er ;00 Best Buy :&press +utomated Cetail stores
or RSoomShopsR- operated !y Soom Systems- in airports and malls around the U.S.
2Buy- .0;.8
Besides these traditional !ric# and mortar distri!ution channels- since .000
Best Buy has had an online presence through !est!uy.com. The *e!site pro"ides
customers *ith access to product information- product support- ser"ice pac#ages-
deals of the day etc. The *e!site also gi"es customers the opportunity to order
online and pic#-up their products in-store. The *e!site attracts decent num!er of
uni=ue "isit each month - +"g. .0M "isitors a month 2***.compete.com- .0;.8.
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Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
*igure &7 We2sie @isiors
In .001- the company opened its (rst international glo!al procurement o9ce
in Shanghai- and also operates sourcing o9ces in BeiIing and Shen,hen- primarily to
reduce costs and increase the speed to mar#et !y purchasing products directly from
manufacturers 2Buy- .0;.8.
Curren 'peraions
Big-Bo$ Sore Mo,el
Best Buy stores operate in the form of the com!ination of !ig-!o& stores and
chain stores. Usually- the retail stores are largely esta!lished *ith huge selling
spaces. $ith the su9cient num!ers and space of the stores- Best Buy can place as
many as products as it could- including as many !rands as possi!le. ?n one hand-
!y purchasing large amounts of products from its suppliers- Best Buy has the a!ility
to lo*er the cost of the products it !uys. ?n the other hand- !y pro"iding di"ersi(ed
products to its customers- Best Buy attracts more customers and thus generates
more sales re"enue. ?n the !asis of this operation strategy- Best Buy can al*ays
o)er customers *ith the *idest range of products at the lo*est price. Beside the !ig
and mortar store- Best Buy entered the online retail !usiness in .000 !y launching
Best!uy.com. In .0;;- Best !uy also opened its site to the third-party sellers to
enrich the products o)ered 2***.retailingtoday.com- .0;;8.
Cusomer-Cenric 'peraing Mo,el
+ !ig part of Best Buy's success can !e attri!uted to the good ser"ices it
pro"ides to its customers. Best Buy *as the (rst retail company to eliminate the
commissions for the standalone sales people- pro"iding the non-commission
*or#ing en"ironment to impro"e the =uality of the in-store ser"ice. In .00D- Best
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Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
Buy carried out its customer-centric strategy- committing to treat customers as a
uni=ue indi"iduals and to meet customer needs *ith end-to-end solution. <or
e&ample- each store has installation of car audio and "ideo e=uipment- on-site
installation ser"ices- and a Gee# S=uad precinct for computer repair and *arranty
ser"ice. This approach has di)erentiated Best Buy from other retail stores as
pro"iding mid to high-end electronic products *ith lo*er price *hile o)ering
superior customer ser"ice at the purchase e&perience. The strategy sees customer
ser"ice as one of the products- *hich is an inno"ati"e practice in the retail industry.
The customer-centric concept not only generates more demands for the company-
!ut also consolidates Best Buy's position in the mar#etplace.
0api, Sore Aro(h an, MB? E$pansion
Best Buy e&panded its !usiness territory mainly !y aggressi"e store gro*th
and ac=uiring other companies. By rapidly increasing the num!er of stores- Best
Buy reached its ;000th store !y end of .00F- and !ecame the largest electronic
retail stores in the mid and eastern U.S in .009. Bo*e"er- Best Buy is no* trying to
focus on its smaller format stores. It *ill close 50 U.S. !ig-!o& stores and open ;00
Best Buy small-format- stand-alone stores in the current (scal .0;1. In total the
company *ill !e closing 50 stores and cutting D00 corporate Io!s to reduce costs !y
HF00 million o"er the ne&t fe* years. In the past- store gro*th played an important
role in generating sales re"enue. By merging <uture Shop Mtd.- a anada-!ased
electronic chain store- Best Buy initially tapped into the international mar#et in
.00;. <ollo*ing- Best Buy e&panded its !usiness to hina !y ac=uiring Liang Su <i"e
Star +ppliance o. Mtd.- the fourth largest chain store in hina- and tapped into
:uropean mar#et !y !uying a 50E holding in the retail di"ision of arphone
$arehouse- a UK-!ased cell phone company 2***.en.*i#ipedia.org- .0;.8.
Moreo"er- !y ac=uiring companies in di)erent industry- such as Geed S=uad-
Musicland- and Magnolia +udio >ideoTetc- Best Buy not only enriches types of its
products- !ut also enhances the ser"ice that it pro"ides.
Suppliers an, Alo2al Sourcing
Best Buy has many suppliers. <i"e of Best Buy's largest suppliers are +pple-
Samsung- Sony- Be*lett-0ac#ard- and Toshi!a- and together- they account for a!out
D0E the merchandise. Best Buy maintains a colla!orati"e relationship *ith its
suppliers. In order to align *ith the customer-centric concept- Best Buy collects
customers' opinions and adIusts its ser"ice or strategy accordingly. Best Buy also
passes those feed!ac#s to its "endors- so they can impro"e the product features to
!etter meet customer desires. In .001- Best Buy opened its glo!al sourcing o9ce in
Shanghai- hina. Best Buy see#s to design- de"elop- and e&pend its pri"ate-la!el
!rands to !e more competiti"e !y ta#ing ad"antage of the manufacturing strength
in +sia. 2***.ecommerce!ytes.com- .0;;8
>isri2uion
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Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
In order to meet the customer needs- Best Buy has a complicated distri!ution
system. In the U.S- most of the merchandise are imported from +sia- and shipped
directly to t*o consolidation centers- located in Seattle and Mong Beach. +nd then-
those U!ro*n goodsV- *hich includes .A-inch T>s and any goods that are smaller
than that- are shipped to another A distri!ution centers around the country. Three of
the A distri!ution centers ser"e not only the !ric# and mortar stores- !ut also the
online shop. The large-screen T>s and other appliances are shipped to ;D home
distri!ution centers to support the stores in the near!y neigh!orhood. +part from
that- a special logistic center in <ran#lin- 4- is in charged of handling the returns of
all the music and mo"ie products- !oth online and in-store. ?ther returned products
go to three return centers in 0itts!urgh- operated !y a third-party company called
Genco. 2***.supplychain!rain.com- .0058 The distri!ution system *or#s similarly
in the international mar#et. In hina- Best Buy operates its main distri!ution center
in Shanghai. The merchandise is directly sent to the distri!ution center- and then
dispersed to other 50 smaller distri!ution centers- operated !y Liang Su <i"e Star
o.- to ser"e the need all o"er the country.
Sraeg! 0ecommen,aions
1mproving he We2sie
BlogCCusomer 0evie(
?nline shoppers are increasingly relying on product re"ie*s and !uyer ratings
to guide their o*n online purchases. <urthermore- online customer re"ie*s as *ell
as UsharesV through social net*or#ing media can fuel additional *e!site tra9c. DDE
of Moms use social media for !randOproduct recommendationsN A1E trust online
community recommendations.N @;E of people rely on user re"ie*s for product
information or research !efore a !uying decision is made 2<lannagan- .0;;8.
BestBuy.com has a fairly *ell-de"eloped system for sharing customer
re"ie*s. 7et- it fails to gi"e consumers the option of sharing products onto their o*n
personal social net*or# sites or !logs. BestBuy.com customers can participate in a
ran#ing system that the company has esta!lished as *ell in *hich the customer
gains more points as a re"ie*er as more people choose to share their lin#s or li#e
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Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
their re"ie*s. ?ne potential idea is to pro"ide customers *ith some type of
incenti"e system depedent on the ran#ing achie"ed in order to encourage more
consumers to participate in re"ie*ing products. The re*ards can come in the form
of special o)ers or early !ird deals- and customers must continue to participate in
product re"ie*s in order to maintain or increase their re*ard ran#ing. <urthermore-
customers tend to utili,e the UInclude Celated Best Buy 0roductsV option rather
infre=uently- and thus this should also !e tied into this re*ard system !ased on
ran#ing. +gain- !y esta!lishing such a system- BestBuy.com can pull in a larger
amount of online tra9c from consumers searching for product re"ie*s- *hich
hopefully *ill translate into more online sales- particularly *ith the implementation
of the re*ard system.
Darger recommen,aion panel
The Mong Tail approach in mar#eting in *hich lesser used search phrases are
utili,ed to dri"e tra9c to a *e!site is a particularly good approach in industries *ith
strong competition and is an approach that Best Buy can utili,e successfully. Best
Buy currently only focuses on products *ithin the onsumer :lectronics- Bome
?9ce- :ntertainment Soft*are- and +ppliances categories- !ut it can still (nd *ays
to e&pand the e&isting recommendation panel using a Mong Tail approach. $hat
Best Buy is currently utili,ing as far as a recommendation panel goes is a relati"ely
small UCelated 0roductsV panel that appears on a user's page *hen he or she
searches for or purchases any gi"en product. +ma,on- on the other hand has
se"eral more recommendation panels- including UMore Search Cesults-V U<re=uently
Bought Together-V Uustomers $ho Bought This +lso Bought-V U$hat ?ther Items
4o ustomers Buy +fter >ie*ing This Item-V and UCelated Items.V ?ne strategy to
e&pand this area may !e to utili,e product tags as deri"ed from customer re"ie*s
as to recommend additional products that that customer may potentially !e
interested in. Upgrading the =uality of the product tags can not only pro"ide
consumers *ith more appropriate recommendations to !etter suit their li#es- thus
ma#ing them more li#ely to purchase additional items from the company- !ut they
can also pro"ide consumers *ith a more pleasura!le o"erall shopping e&perience.
0emoving Aoogle ?,s
$hen accessing BestBuy.com- internet users *ill commonly come across
Google +ds displayed on the right hand side and !ottom of any gi"en page on the
*e!site. +ccording to user's search records- these Google +ds often pro"ide !etter
deals on the identical products that the user is !ro*sing for- e&cept that the deals
are o)ered !y competing *e!sites. onsumers- and internet shoppers in particular-
are prone to see# out the lo*est possi!le price for any gi"en product- particularly
*ith the *ide array of options a"aila!le on the internet. +lthough Best Buy earns
some re"enue !y allo*ing these ad"ertisements- this does not e"en come close to
ma#ing up for the amount of sales they may !e losing on account of these ads
2Google +ds on Best!uy.com- .0;08. Such an o!"ious strategic error could and
;A / 0 a g e
Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
should !e easily a"oided as to not =uite literally hand o"er potential consumers to
the competition. +s demonstrated !y the image !elo*- one of the Google +ds that
appears !elo* an MG monitor featured on BestBuy.com directs customers to
Tiger4irect.com- *here they can purchase the e&act same product for roughly HD5
less than on BestBuy.com.
*igure .7 E$ample of Aoogle ?,s 0elocaing Business
&3/ ,egree pro,uc vie(s
?ne of the main dra*!ac#s of online shopping is the fact that consumers
cannot physically touch or test the product under consideration. +part from
physically going to a !ric# and mortar retailer to "ie* the product- the ne&t !est
option is to pro"ide online shoppers *ith a 1@0 degree product "ie*. onsumers
should !e a!le to not only "ie* an image of the product up close- !ut also !e a!le
to rotate the item any *hich *ay they choose *ith the clic# of a mouse. The idea
here is to pro"ide online shoppers *ith such an e&perience so that they feel as if
they ha"e already interacted *ith and "ie*ed the product to such an e&tent to
*hich they no longer feel the need to "ie* it in person prior to ma#ing the decision
to purchase. 1@0 photography is #no* to ha"e a signi(cantly larger impact on
consumers' purchasing decisions compared to that of a single dimensional image
due to the fact that it communicates product features more e)ecti"ely and presents
a higher le"el of information and detail to the consumer 2Cadulescu- .00F8. Google
recently launched 1@0 degree product "ie*s on it's toy category only for testing
during Than#sgi"ing- *hich is demonstrated in the image !elo*. This is a concept
that *ould also !ene(t Best Buy in potentially generating greater online sales.
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Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
*igure 67 &3/ Pro,uc 0evie(s
Do(er Price 4ag
4aily price monitoring a"aila!le online allo*s a company such as Best Buy to
ha"e their products tagged as UMo*er 0riceWV if their product is in fact cheaper than
an identical product sold on their competitors' *e!sites. If BestBuy.com *ere to
utili,e this- more consumers *ould !e attracted to the site more fre=uently and the
*e!site's "isi!ility *ould also increase "ia the online search results. The larger idea
here is that Best Buy *ould ha"e the ad"antage o"er its competition in that they
could not only pro"ide potential customers *ith the a!ility to "ie* and test the
product in-store- !ut they can also demonstrate to the consumer that their online
prices are competiti"e *ith that of their online competition- hopefully ma#ing it
more li#ely that consumers *ill return to the *e!site to purchase a product after
they ha"e shopped around on other *e!sites as *ell as in-store at their local Best
Buy location.
Sop E$pan,ing Big-Bo$ Sores
The economic recession of .00F dramatically altered the shopping and
purchasing ha!its of many consumers. Many consumers ha"e mo"ed to*ard online
shopping- in search of !etter deals and more con"enient ser"ice than found at local
stores. Unfortunately- in recent times- Best Buy !ric#-and-mortar locations ha"e
!ecome synonymous *ith simply !eing sho*room for consumers to physically see
and test products and as# =uestions prior to going online and purchasing the
product for a lo*er price else*here. Thus- this trend has had a signi(cant negati"e
impact on Best Buy's sales- particularly *ith the high cost of running and
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Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
maintaining !ric#-and-mortar stores- and the company is facing more competition
than e"er from areas that pre"iously posed little to no competition for the company.
?nline retailers such as +ma,on ha"e !ecome the company's !iggest competitors-
and Best Buy has !een struggling to compete in recent years. :-commerce no*
accounts for more than .0E of U.S. consumer electronics sales- and yet online sales
only account for @E if Best Buy's domestic sales 2Bloom!erg Business $ee#- .0;.8.
Cecent years ha"e sho*ed slo*ed gro*th in re"enue and a decline in :0S
since .0;0- and yet- Best Buy has still continued to e&pand. By .00F- the num!er of
Best Buy !ig !o& stores in the United States alone reached ;-000
2***.read*rite*e!.com- .0;.8- and that num!er gre* to ;-;01 !y .0;. 2Boo"er's-
.0;.8. 3ot only did this gro*th seem counterintuiti"e- especially in light of the fact
that more consumers are mo"ing to online shopping and a*ay from !ric#-and-
mortar retailers- !ut it also had a negati"e impact on the company's (nancials due
to the high cost of constructing and operating these stores. Best Buy su)ers froma
disad"antage o"er its competitors !ecause of the cost of maintaining it's stores. The
company spends H@ !illion on !ric#-and-mortar locations on a H50 !illion sales !ase-
putting the company at a ;0E price disad"antage to all online competition.
4espite all this- the company has in fact recently announced plans to shut
do*n 50 of it's !ig !o& stores across the United States in an attempt to reduce
o"erhead costs !y HF00 million !y .0;D and open ;00 Best Buy Mo!ile stand-alone
stores across the country during (scal year .0;1 in order to increase !usiness
performance 2!ottomline.n!cne*s.com- .0;.8. Best Buy Mo!ile and ?nline are !oth
gro*ing at a dou!le-digit pace. Mo!ile o)ers lo*er margins- !ut the tremendous
gro*th out*eighs potential margin compression. ?)ering hot mo!ile items dri"es
tra9c to the stores and helps the company sell other products in addition to
pro(ting from the de"ices themsel"es. Bo*e"er- it is still dou!tful *hether Best
Buy's competiti"e ad"antage of operating many !ig !o& stores is really an
ad"antage at all in light of the decline of !ric#-and-mortar format stores and the
increase in popularity of online shopping. <urthermore- though the demand for
*ireless products is increasing- this decision could Iust slo* the mar#et share losses
oer the ne&t fe* years due to the increasing num!er of *ireless #ios#s.
+s such- it may !e in the company's !est interest to consider halting the
e&pansion of !ig !o& store locations- or at the "ery least- slo*ing do*n their
e&pansion- in addition to considering an o"erall decrease in the s=uare footage of
their locations as *ell as shifting more attention to their online sales strategy. There
needs to !e a focus on ma#ing e&isiting stores more attracti"e to consumers in
order to dra* them in- rather than Iust simply shutting do*n stores- and integrating
stores *ith their online shopping e&perience. Thus- it is recommended that Best Buy
should streamline it's physical stores !y reducing it's s=uare footage of traditional
!ig !o& stores throuh store closings- su!leasing- and increased small-format
openings due to the fact that Best Buy must catch up *ith aggressi"e competitors
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Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
such as +pple- ostco- and $al-Mart- as *ell as it needs to di"ert this attention to
the fact that more shoppers are turning to online retailers such as +ma,on. The
maIority of the sa"ings from cost cutting should !e put to*ard impro"ing customer
ser"ice and rein"esting into !ecoming more competiti"e from a pricing standpoint.
4he 0igh 0esrucure
Best Buy is currently pursuing a strategy in *hich their main o!Iecti"es
appear to !e to close se"eral of their !ig !o& stores and cut Io!s in order to achie"e
a greater goal of restructuring the US electronics megalith. More speci(cally- Uthe
company's restructuring- *hich it !egan in the UK and the rest of :urope last
3o"em!er- includes ma#ing its stores smaller and more numerous and refocusing
them on mo!ile communications ser"ices and de"icesV 2Lopson- .0;.8. Bo*e"er-
this is not the (rst time that the company has pursued such a strategy in hopes of
increasing Best Buy's o"erall performance- and many !usiness analysts are
s#eptical as to *hether such a strategy can do much to re"erse the damage that
has already !een inJicted. <ollo*ing the company's announcement- Best Buy's
stoc# price dropped A cents to H.D.AA in return 2Lopson- .0;.8. ?ne can de(ne
insanity as repeating the same actions o"er and o"er !ut e&pecting di)erent results-
and this is certainly one *ay to accurately descri!e Best Buy's current strategy.
Cestructing !ric#-and-mortar locations is an unescapa!le necessity- !ut one
that should !e done in *ay not pre"iously seen !y the analysts in the industry. It is
recommended that Best Buy restructure their stores !y remo"ing large appliances
and !etter utili,ing that ne*ly ac=uired e&tra s=uare footage !y pro"iding a more
rela&ed- trendy- cafX type of en"ironment that facilitates customer engagement
*ith Best Buy's products. This strategy *ould not only !e aimed at impro"ing the
o"erall customer e&perience- !ut also to ma&imi,e the amount of time the
consumer spends in the store. <urthermore- the remainder of the space *ould !e
made a"aila!le to co)ee retailers such as Star!uc#s to set up shop- thus not only
attracting more customers into the store- !ut also generating some e&tra re"enue
!y leasing the space to the co)ee retailers. This strategy *ill re=uire the in"estment
of capital "ersus the o)ering of stoc# di"idends as *ell as the construction of a
supply chain capa!le of ri"aling competitors such as +ma,on.
The hedgehog theory tells us that *e should (nd that at *hich *e are !est at
and then !e !etter at it than anyone else- *hile also ma#ing money *hile doing it.
Unfortunately- Best Buy is struggling to accomplish the latter half of that statement-
particularly in the eyes of in"estors- *hich translates to failure as a pu!lically traded
company. The topics of cash Jo*s and the issuance of di"idends *ill !e discussed in
greater detail later in this section- !ut it is critical to note that the company's stoc#
.; / 0 a g e
Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
prices ha"e !een steadily falling- *hich is a poor omen for in"estors. Marge
appliances ma#e up only @E of sales for Best Buy- a "ery negligi!le percentage
*hen considering the si,e and price of the products 27ahoo- .0;.8. Thus- the
decision to eliminate large appliances should !e a simple one. The return on store
space to sales is simply unsatisfactory. The reason for this li#ely has to do *ith the
fact that Best Buy simply cannot compete *ith *ell esta!lished appliance retailers
such as Sears or *ith the fact that appliance manufacturers are increasingly
choosing to sell their products directly to customers *hile !ypassing any
intermediary retailer such as Best Buy. Through a simple poll conducted *ith peers
and classmates- not a single indi"idual stated that Best Buy *as a place they *ould
consider going to to purchase their appliances. learly- large appliaces are not Best
Buy's hedgehog remo"ing them *ill free up Joor space that can !e !etter utili,ed to
return to *hat the company is good at Y pro"iding a great customer e&perience and
selling trendy electronics.
+s pre"iously stated- it is no secret that one of Best Buy's !iggest challenges
is that they supply consumers *ith a optimal testing ground to ma#e future
purchases. onsumers can "isit their local Best Buy- feel and test products- consult
*ith Best Buy employees on technical issues- and then return home only to ma#e an
informed purchase of that product from one of Best Buy's competitors. Thus- it is
critical that Best Buy consider *ays to not only increase the amount of time a
potential customer spends in their store- !ut also !etter utili,e this time in such a
*ay as to encourage on the spot purchases and discourage online purchases from
competitor's *e!sites at a later time. 0ro"iding the potential customer *ith a
comforta!le- hands-on en"ironment is #ey in this =uest. It is important that the
shopping e&perience ma#es the customer feel that it is "ital that he or she must
ha"e the product in their hands immediately rather than in three to ("e !usiness
days later.
+s such- it is recommended that Best Buy !etter utili,e the "oid created
through the elimination of large appliances !y re"amping the space into a in"iting
cafX en"ironment complete *ith !ean !ag chairs *here the consumer can rela& and
play around *ith one of the many electronic products o)ered- at their leisure. ?f
course- anyone can touch- feel- and test products found in any gi"en Best Buy
location at this current point in time- !ut !y pro"iding an area *here consumers can
ta#e an i0ad- comforta!ly sit do*n- and test the product o"er a hot cup of co)ee
and Ju)y !anana nut mu9n such as depicted in the image !elo*- the consumer
can de"elop a far greater !ond to that particular product at that particular point in
time. By allo*ing the customer to do*nloand apps- update their <ace!oo# status-
and personali,e their playlists in a laid!ac# atmosphere much li#e the one they
*ould e&perience at home- the consumer may not longer *ant Iust any i0ad- !ut
that i0ad at that moment- turning the purchase into some*hat of an emotionally
dri"en impulse !uy.
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Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
*igure 37 E$ample of Ean,s 'n Space
Image pro"ided courtesy of ***.!logspot.com
Ultimately- Best Buy's current supply chain model is less than impressi"e-
particularly *hen compared to that of it's main competitor- +ma,on. ?f course- part
of the reason for this is that +ma,on has "ery lo* o"erhead costs compared to a
company such as Best Buy- and thus more cash to in"est in impro"ing their supply
chain management. $ith Iust the simple clic# of a !utton- the product that the
customer desires *ill arri"e on their doorstep *ithin a matter of days- or e"en less-
*ith errors in shipment !eing unheard of. 0roduct returns and e&changes are
handled promptly and accurate feed!ac# helps esta!lish trust *ith consumers.
<urthermore- hidden algorithms that select complementary and supplementary
products help dri"e +ma,on's o"erall !usiness model. Because +ma,on is one of
Best Buy's largest competitors- Best Buy must not only !e capa!le of competing
*ith this model !ut also !e capa!le of ta#ing it to the ne&t le"el- *hich may include
options such as customer at-home setup of products or in-store returns. Best Buy
must tac#le a t*o-fold issue- *ith one side !eing increasing the ease and comfort of
in-store purchases- and the other !eing competing in the domain of online
shopping. It is not enough for Best Buy to Iust !e a!le to compete- !ut rather they
must !e capa!le of car"ing out mar#et share and succeeding in the online
mar#etplace if they hope to thri"e. Thus- !y eliminating di"idends- Best Buy can
generate the fuel it needs to ad"ance the current supply chain model and as *ell as
e&cel upon the online shopping model already implemented !y +ma,on.
Summar!
+s the largest player in the US electronics mar#et and *ith lo* competition
*ithin the sector Best Buy should !e performing !etter and stoc# prices rising. 4ue
.1 / 0 a g e
Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
to anti=uated restructuring plans- sti) competition from online retailers- and loss of
the customer e&perience- this is unfortunately not the case. Through restructuring
the e&isting stores !y eliminating large appliance o)erings- installing comforta!le-
hands-on areas *ith co)ee shops- reorgani,ing and prioriti,ing our online e)orts-
and slo*ing the gro*th of our !ig !o& stores- *e strongly !elief that Best Buy can
!e the !est once again. ?ur proposal here and understanding of the mar#et sho*
true !usiness sense. $e ha"e outlined funding- direction- and timing. It is up to
those in charge to turn around the company and pro"ide to in"estors *hat they
should ha"e had all along Y success through capital gains.
.D / 0 a g e
Bes Bu! Sraeg! Managemen
Works Cie,
***.adage.com. 2.0;08. Market Trees 2010. <rom +d +ge 4atacenter.
***.compete.com. 2.0;. Z[\ 09-;08. Best Buy Co. <rom ompete.com6
***.compete.comOus
***.ecommerce!ytes.com. 2.0;;- Sep F8. Best Buy Opens Market To The Third-
Party Seller. Cetrie"ed from eommerce!ytes.
***.en.*i#ipedia.org. 2.0;.8. Wikipedia.
***.supplychain!rain.com. 2.0058. Supply Chain Brain.
***.retailingtoday.com. 2.0;;8. RatailingToday.o!.
7ahoo. 2.0;.8. Best Buy. Cetrie"ed .0;. Z[\ Fth-?cto!er from 7ahoo <inance6
http6OO(nance.yahoo.comO=%s]!!yP=l];
2.0;.8. Cetrie"ed from ***.read*rite*e!.com6
http6OO***.read*rite*e!.comOarchi"esOread*rite*e!-death*atch-!est-!uy.php
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