With the indefinite delay of Green City, I thought I'd post my photos of the Best Products headquarters from when I was working over there. It's a really neat piece of architecture, hope to see it preserved/incorporated into something useful for the area.

Okay — obviously I know WHY they went out of business— they ran out of money. But how have stores like Staples, Office Depot/Office Max, Microcenter, and Best Buy continued to see decent growth while one of the oldest tech stores in the country went out of business??

I've worked at BestBuy for many years and I've seen it's steady decline. I'm also old enough to remember it's resurgence under ole Hubert back in the day after some years of downward spiraling so it's nothing new ...but this "feels" different. Honestly, it's starting to look like the pig is fat enough and is ready for slaughter. Hear me out....

We've pretty much out lasted any competition that was out there. Circuit City, Radio Shack, HHGregg ...just to name a few...gone. Other companies do exist that sorta fill the need we fill, but not completely. Walmart and Amazon are not known as Tech centric companies. Yes they sell a lot of the same things as we do...but they they also market a lot of other products other than tech so they don't really match up. Companies like Microcenter focus in more specialized products, so they also don't count. I realize there may be some companies I'm missing, especially of the regional variety, so forgive me if I'm missing any. That being said....we really are the only game in town that does what we do.

We have become the Golden Standard for this industry. Kinda like how everyone and their grandma calls any productivity software "Office" even if it's another....because it's the accepted standard for that sort of software. We are the measuring pole, the recognized big dawg. We've shown the company can survive and make a profit, even in the worst of times and that comes with perks. Everyone knows our name and that comes with built in loyalty. Some people will only buy from us because they trust us. Same with Geek Squad. It's part of the cultural fabric. People recognize the name, know what it's does and where it's at(BestBuy). Hell we've been copied and we've inspired fictional entities( looking and you Chuck and your Nerd Herd) and now we're even being imitated by Scammers to try and lull people into a false sense of trust to steal their money. All this means that is that everyonr who isn't us wants what we have, or they want what we control. It's not the company or it's people....it's the name, the recognition. Thats why circuitcity still has a website and sales online(look it up)

I'm saying all this because it feels like all of the recent changes, cutting of personnel, loss of certain positions altogether (why the hell don't we have dedicated Mobile People anymore? Activating a phone is horrible and should be done by someone who is skilled at it....not whoever the hell is free), the freeform " no departments, so no specialists" way of running the sales floor,etc. These are not really cost saving measures, not really. They may save in the short run....but they harm the longer it goes. We are no longer a company of "experts", more often it's a bunch of people who are overworked and underpaid and who really don't have that much more knowledge than the people they are serving. I'm not shitting on the people doing the work....just making an observation. Customer/clients talk, and they are not happy with the experiences they get. Sure they still buy what we sell....but part of that is because we are the only game in town in alot of cases. So they have no other choice.

No matter what Corie thinks....people are still not sold on the idea of buying everything sight unseen online. Just because the website has a picture doesn't mean it's the right fit. Amazon's return and exchange numbers prove that.People will buy online because it's cheap ...but just as happily return it if the color isn't exactly like they thought. So they like the idea of looking at it first hand, so they come in. But if the person selling it doesnt really knows the product and can't make it shine for them, or the repair agent who is supposed to fix their problem when a product breaks...it's make them hesitant to invest in us and at the end of the day costs us money. Simply because corners were cut to "save" money.

Now all of this works towards devaluing the company as a whole, but not the NAME. BestBuy/GeekSquad could be an absolute dumpster fire (they aren't, but not by much....yet) but the name recognition is still there. So we still have some value. Our name has. A little tarnish on it....but it's still got value. It's a balancing act. Can't have a name be to far gone( like Adolf after world war 2) ,but it can't be so good that its to valuable to acquire. So you make things a little bad, some manufactured crisises to make us look bad and then BOOM! One of our competitors comes in and is willing to "rescue' us by buying us out. Thus they acquire the name and our assets at a bargain price. This of course doesn't help the rank and file as they lose their jobs. But it does help the share holders and the Board of directors as they will come into a nice windfall from the sales. And as long as they don't royally screw up the inside job that is the downfall of the company and taint their own names ( I mean who would want to hire someone that helped destroy a multi billion dollar company) they could move on to another high paying executive job, all the more richer.

Thats what these times feels like. Like the pig fattened up and ready to be put to market. It may not be in the near future....but I can see it on the horizon.

Addendum: I would like to thank all of you that have commented or taken the time to read this. This post was merely a way for me to express some frustration I have been feeling as of late. While I am not a verse to a company making changes to promote or ensure profit (s), I have always thought it wiser for a person or organization to plan for long-term success. Sustainability over immediate financial boons. A company that lasts for 50 years and makes steady growth and adapts and endures will always be better in my mind than a company that loses sight or sacrifices its integrity and soul for boost in financial gains only to collapse leaving the majority with nothing to show for it.

The fact that people are willing to engage in this conversation and share their thoughts and ideas is it good sign that what once made this company great is still alive somewhere inside it. And I hope, especially for those who have decided to make this company their career, that these ideals and values do not fade. Instead, I hope they find a greater foothold and are able to return to prominence. For this is the only way I can see the company remaining

I doubt even Amazon will want BBY in 5 years

How long until corporate just snaps themselves?