Best Buy may be one of the many retailers that has experienced the biggest business ups and downs. Best Buy made a perfect comeback in a situation where it was widely believed that it might go bankrupt. Best Buy's share price has doubled in the past three years, while the S & P has risen just 28 percent over the same period. This achievement is not only the envy of other retailers, but also comparable.
In fact, Best Buy's Nirvana rebirth has something to do with the wise leadership of the company's CEO Hubert, and the change in the company's business philosophy has also contributed to this turnaround.It is worth noting that Best Buy seems to be focusing on the smart device market. Under Hubert's leadership, can Best Buy stand on the "giant shoulder" of many technology companies?
Where does Best Buy go after the phone?
To get the company out of the quagmire, CEO Hubert made an unexpected decision.Specifically, the company plans to close 250 stores by the end of May to cut overall spending. Analysts believe Best Buy may plan to gain the capital to enter the smart device sales market by reducing costs and gaining cash flow.
In fact, Hubert decided to shut down the mobile terminal stores in the shopping malls, as the name suggests, the department that mainly sells traditional mobile phones and smartphones. As for the reason,"the smartphone boom has passed its peak, and now the market is doomed to decline," he explained.Twelve years ago, Best Buy entered the mobile phone market. At that time, the market was just formed and there were still many opportunities. In the twinkling of an eye, in 2018, the market has matured, and it is time for Best Buy to focus on other growth points. Obviously, Hubert is not optimistic about the future of the smartphone market in the United States, but the smartphone market is actually a model of the industry in the United States.
It is worth noting that Best Buy has not completely abandoned mobile phone sales, and will still sell mobile phone products such as Apple Inc and Samsung in stores in the future.
Next spring
If Best Buy has given up on mobile devices, especially the retail of mobile phones, what is Best Buy's next move?
Analysts point out that Best Buy may have set its sights on the smart device market.It is understandable that if smartphones have become strangers, they can only be replaced by the broader smart device market. Over the past two years, the protagonists of the smart device craze have changed one wave after another-the advent of smartwatches has changed people's perception of wearable devices, followed by devices such as VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality). This year, the leading actors are smart audio devices such as Apple Inc's Homepod and Amazon.Com Inc's Echo.
But in any case, none of these new protagonists seems to have caused as much storm as smartphones. Both smartwatches and smart speakers seem to have become accessories for smartphones.
What is the next spring in the smart device market? Analysts believe that smart homes and the Internet of things based on them are the potential stocks.
Best Buy must have realized this and chose to target the smart device market.It is worth mentioning that not long ago, Best Buy and Amazon.Com Inc joined forces to build an intelligent TV set-top box device called Agni.
Starting this summer, Best Buy will start selling 11 products, including Toshiba TV and Best Buy's Insignia TV. At the same time, Best Buy will sell Amazon.Com Inc Fire TV in its store and on its website and enter Amazon.Com Inc's website.
It is worth noting that Best Buy's series of moves may make tech companies that sell smartphones nervous.
The more tricks you have, the better your chances of winning.
It seems that the big crocodiles in the technology industry have long been aware of the change in the market wind and have begun to focus on the development of diversified products rather than simply providing mobile hardware.
Alphabet Inc-CL C's parent company, Alphabet, has moved towards a "hardware + software" sales model by launching a series of Pixel phones.At the same time, the company also pays more attention to rely on its ace search engine revenue from advertising and services, in order to promote the diversification of revenue.
In contrast, Samsung and Apple Inc seem to face more pressure, but they have also taken positive measures.Specifically, Samsung has achieved diversified sales by selling its own brand of computer chips and other semi-finished accessories, while Apple Inc has developed its own subscription services, such asApple Music (Apple Inc music), Apple Pay (paid by Apple Inc) and Apple Care (Apple Inc's value-added service), and achieved great results.
In any case, eggs can't be put in one basket. Best Buy understands it, and so do Apple Inc and Samsung. Perhaps only by providing more diversified services can consumers' hearts be tied.
(this article is produced by Futu Information compilation team, compiled / Guanjie, proofread / Chen Lixing)