Best Buy CEO presents vision to analysts, investors in New York City
Best Buy's new Chief Executive Officer Hubert Joly outlined his five-point strategy, called "Renew Blue," to turn around the Richfield-based consumer electronics chain before he met with Wall Street investors in New York Tuesday afternoon, the Business Journal reports. Read the key priorities below:
1. Reinvigorate and rejuvenate the customer experience.
2. Attract, grow, engage and inspire transformational leaders and energize the employees to deliver extraordinary results for all our stakeholders.
3. Work with vendor partners to innovate and drive value.
4. Increase the company's return on invested capital, based on an unrelenting focus on revenue growth, efficiency and disciplined capital allocation.
5. Continue Best Buy's leadership role in positively impacting our world and making it a better place.
In a news release, the company said its short-term goal will be "to stabilize and then begin increasing its comparable store sales and operating margin." Longterm, Best Buy is targeting an operating margin of five to six percent over time and a return on invested capital of 13 to15 percent.
Joly, the former CEO of hospitality company Carlson, took over as Best Buy's president and CEO in September.
Reuters notes Best Buy also said Tuesday that the company plans to "optimize its store footprint on an ongoing basis," which may suggest the company may look at ways to shrink or close stores. In late March the company said it would close 50 large U.S. stores.
Richard Schulze - its founder, former CEO and largest shareholder - is trying to take it private.
On Monday, Best Buy announced that Sharon McCollam, formerly of Williams Sonoma, will come out of retirement to take over as the company’s new chief financial officer. She will join the retailer next month.
