Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Special guests will be in the store both Saturday and Sunday.
After announcing it would be downsized in late March, the Richfield Best Buy location will hold a grand re-opening celebration Saturday and Sunday. The revamp is part of the company's new "Connected Stores" strategy. The model is a redesign of the company's current big-box concept. Stores, like Richfield's, were trimmed down and focus on portable electronics—such as tablets and e-readers—and feature a central knowledge desk where people can get things like wireless plans for cell phones. According to a company press release, the new store will allow for a more interactive, accessible shopping experience. Roughly 20 percent of the store's space was reduced, making room for Ulta, a beauty products supply chain. Of course, the grand opening …
Monday, June 11, 2012
Best Buy announces the first two of five Minnesota stores to close.
After announcing in April that it would close five stores in Minnesota, Best Buy announced the Edina and Brooklyn Center stores would be the first to close their doors on June 21. "This was not an easy decision to make," the company said in a press release. "[We] are working to ensure the impact to our employees will be as minimal as possible, while serving all customers in a convenient and satisfying way." According to the Star Tribune, workers will be paid until Aug. 8 and are being considered for other jobs within the company. If those employees do not receive or take a new position at Best Buy, a severance package will be given. A total of 50 stores across the country are slated to close by fall. The other three Minnesota stores …
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Richard Schulze was originally going to step down June 21, however, in a statement today he wants to "explore" all his ownership options.
After announcing he would step down as Best Buy chairman following an annual meeting June 21, company founder Richard Schulze's resigned today. “I continue to believe in Best Buy and its future—and care deeply about its customers, employees and shareholders,” he said in a statement. “There is an urgent need for Best Buy to reinvigorate growth by reconnecting with today’s customers and building pathways to the next generation of consumers. Accordingly, I have shared my views with the Board and today informed them of my decision to resign as Chairman and a director, effective immediately, in order to explore all available options for my ownership stake.” Schulze originally announced his resignation May 14 after an audit committee found he …
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
After Target's recent statement in opposition to the amendment, a recent University of Minnesota Law School grad started a Change.org campaign to get Best Buy to do the same.
More than 15,000 people have joined a campaign on Change.org asking that Best Buy speak out against the anti-gay marriage amendment that will be on the ballot this November. The amendment would change the Minnesota Constitution to state marriage is only between one man and one woman. According to a press release, Andrew Korando, a recent University of Minnesota Law School graduate, started the campaign following Target Corporation's recent statement in opposition to the amendment. “Opposing this amendment is not simply the right thing to do, but as a local institution, it is also in Best Buy’s best interest if it wants to recruit and retain the industry’s top talent,” Korando said in the release. “I moved to Minnesota from another state, …
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Chris Gorog filed a suit against the company Thursday, alleging that Best Buy did not honor his severances agreement.
Follow Richfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter As if Best Buy wasn't dealing with enough, the big-box retailer is now being sued by former Napster CEO Chris Gorog. The suit was filed Thursday in Minnesota's U.S. District Court. According to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, Gorog's suit alleges that Best Buy didn't honor his severance agreement and attempted to short-change him when it sold Napster to competitor Rhapsody in 2011. Gorog acquired the near-bankrupt Napster in 2002 and turned the free—and as many will remember, copyright-violating—music sharing site into a legitimate business with more than $100 million in sales, according to the business journal report. Best Buy …
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Matthew Furman will report to interim CEO Mike Mikan beginning June 22.
After experiencing major shake-ups in its top tier of management the last couple months, Best Buy announced Thursday that Matthew Furman will join the company as senior vice president of the Communications and Public Affairs department. According to a company press release, Furman, 41, will oversee Best Buy's employee communications, public relations, executive communications, government affairs, corporate responsibility and community relations. Before coming to Best Buy, Furman was the vice president of Corporate Affairs for Mars Chocolate and a member of its management team. In addition, he was the former head of corporate communications for Google. Give the tough times the company is experiencing, Furman said in the release: "It's time …
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The company releases its first quarter profit earnings for this fiscal year Tuesday.
Follow Richfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter Once again Best Buy reported quarterly profits coming up short Tuesday, however, the company's earnings came in higher than what most analysts estimated. According to Bloomberg Business, revenue in the first quarter, which included an extra week, increased 2.1 percent to $11.61 billion, exceeding the $11.5 billion average of 19 analysts’ estimates. (If you exclude the extra week, revenue declined 4.3 percent.) While the company was 25 percent down, after accounting for restructuring costs, the company maintained its earnings outlook for fiscal 2013, according to an article on NASDAQ.com. In addition, Bloomberg reported that Best Buy lured …
Monday, May 21, 2012
The company has been looking for a new CEO since Brian Dunn resigned April 9, 2012.
The Best Buy Board of Directors Search Committee announced Spencer Stuart would conduct the search for a new company CEO Monday morning. According to a company press release, the firm will consider both internal and external candiates and was selected for "its global expertise and experience recruiting for retail and digital companies." Mike Mikan has been serving as interim CEO since Brian Dunn resigned in early April during a personal conduct investigation and shortly after the company released its fourth quarter numbers. The search committee was charged with finding the next company CEO in mid-April and is headed by Kathy J. Higgins Victor and other independent directors. Other articles on this topic: Sign up for the Richfield Patch …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Brian Dunn resigned as CEO on April 9 amid a personal conduct investigation and shortly after the company announced it would be closing 50 stores.
Former Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn is set to receive a $6.6 million severance package. According to CBS Local, the payout includes a 2012 bonus of $1.1 million, stock grants of $2.5 million, a severance payment of $2.9 million and more than $100,000 for unused vacation. The amount is more than double the $3.2 million Bloomberg Business reported earlier this month. The severance announcement came shortly after Best Buy's audit committee released a three-report on its investigation into Dunn's alleged relationship with a female staffer. The committee determined that Dunn had acted inapproriately, however, there was no misuse of company money. The company's found Richard Schulze announced he would step down as chairman after the investigation …
Monday, May 14, 2012
Best Buy releases its investigation findings on former CEO's conduct and the company's founder will step down.
Best Buy founder Richard Schulze will step down as chairman after an investigation found that he failed to alert the board about allegations of now-former CEO, Brian Dunn, having an inappropriate relationship with a 29-year-old female staffer. According to Bloomberg Business, the committee charged with investigating Dunn's conduct found that he acted inappropriately, such as sending multiple e-mails and text messages to the woman, lending her money and giving her free tickets to concerts and sporting events. Dunn resigned April 9 in the midst of the investigation. “The growing awareness and speculation surrounding the friendship created friction and disruption in the workplace," the committee said. "And, according to her supervisor, …
Gregory Stanton
3:23 pm on Friday, August 3, 2012
Jody, while not well known, if you have done any research into the 1970's decision to take homosexuality out of the DSM then you'd know that it was done on an almost completely exclusive vote and irrespective of the majority of research done on the subject at the time. There were many psychologists/psychiatrists who disagreed with the decision and whom accused the vote was mostly a political move… more ›