Best Buy Shuts Down UK Big Box Stores
Best Buy Shuts Down UK Big Box Stores
Posted 11/07/2011 at 12:22pm
| by Brad Chacos
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Best Buy may be the big box electronics retailer of choice in the US, but it hasn’t been quite as successful on the other side of the pond – at least not as Americans know it. In fact, Best Buy Europe is built primarily around “small box” phone-based technology stores and only launched its familiar big box-format UK flagship stores in April 2010. They should’ve stuck to what they knew; today, Best Buy announced that was closing all 11 of the big-box stores it opened in the UK in order to focus on the small picture.
The company hopes to shift the 1,100 workers affected by the change into the small box stores, a Best Buy spokesman told ZDNet. Best Buy Europe is a 50/50 joint venture between Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse and is the number-one mobile phone retailer in Europe thanks to its 2,500 “Carphone Warehouse” and “Phone House” small box stores. With the closure of the big box stores, Best Buy Europe plans on expanding the capabilities of the small box stores and convert them into their “Wireless World” format, which focuses on all aspects of mobile technology – such as tablets – rather than phones alone.
Meanwhile, back in North America, Best Buy bought out Carphone Warehouse’s 50 percent share in the Best Buy Mobile brand. It sure is complicated jig those multinational corporations dance!
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Zoandar
November 07, 2011 at 4:14pm
I've still got my original Motorola bag phone in a closet somewhere. :)
firefox91
November 07, 2011 at 1:33pm
Carphone Warehouse? This place must have been around a long time to name themselves after a car phone. When is the last time you have seen a car phone, if ever?
Holly Golightly
November 07, 2011 at 12:54pm
All I am thinking about now is: Walmart + Germany= Epic Fail
Everyone should know that before you put your business in any country, you must understand every aspect of the culture. Not every culture thinks like Americans! What were they even thinking?
Vatigu
November 08, 2011 at 3:52am
To be fair this is what best buy attempts to do. Anywhere they go. Buy out the competition. Check. Test the waters, see what the consumer likes over there. Check Open up best buys and compete with themselves arbitrarily. It's pretty funny. Up here in Canada they bought out Future Shop, then a few years later the first best buy opened... They basically intentionally make the old brand suck to push customers into Best Buy's doors, and yet Future Shop is ironically still by a wide margin the largest electronics retailer in Canada. It's pretty funny even when screwing up intentionally people still trust future shop over Best Buy.
Holly Golightly
November 08, 2011 at 11:57am
That is because Best Buy does not understand the Canadian market... That is why Future Shop does so well in Canada. The problem is most of these large multi-national corporations do not do enough research into the culture of the market they are trying to get into. Their solution is to buy out... Which doesn't mean they will be successful. It is like they try to unify everything. Not even Mc.Donalds does this. Well, maybe they will have better luck in another nation.
livebriand
November 07, 2011 at 5:19pm
Hey, go to China and you'll find McDonalds (and fatasses), just like here.
Holly Golightly
November 07, 2011 at 5:34pm
Hey... The Chinese eat anything and just about everything, literally. I have seen Popeyes make big business in China Town of Brooklyn. I was shocked just how they eat any culture of food and not get sick. If I ate any flaming spices... I would be in big trouble... But not the Chinese. L.O.L.! I have yet to see a fatty in China Town though...
Holly Golightly
November 07, 2011 at 5:36pm
Yep, big mistakes everywhere. At least Walmart is doing well in India after careful research. Small stores are better stores in their culture.
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