Best Buy CEO: 'Showrooming is one of the greatest falsehoods'

Best Buy's new top executive, Hubert Joly, tells the Star Tribune that he's "not a big fan of shrinking the company." He wants the Richfield-based electronics giant to maximize sales with its existing stores. One analyst was also a bit puzzled by Joly's comments about "showrooming." "I don't think he's right. I think there's plenty of evidence of people doing that," said Laura Kennedy.

Author:: BMTN Staff
Updated:: Mar 8, 2018
Original:: Sep 10, 2012

Best Buy's new top executive, Hubert Joly, tells the Star Tribune that he's "not a big fan of shrinking the company." He wants the Richfield-based electronics giant to maximize sales with its existing stores.

One analyst was also a bit puzzled by Joly's comments about "showrooming." "I don't think he's right. I think there's plenty of evidence of people doing that," said Laura Kennedy.

In June, interim Best Buy CEO Mike Mikan stressed "shrinking the company's physical footprint."

Joly, a 52-year-old Frenchman, most recently led hospitality and travel giant Carlson.

He replaces Brian Dunn, who resigned amid an internal investigation of an improper relationship with a female employee.

Best Buy's largest shareholder Richard Schulze is also trying to take the company he founded private for roughly $9 billion.

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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.

Hubert Joly, Best Buy's new new president and CEO, officially joined the troubled Richfield-based consumer electronics giant on Tuesday, the Star Tribune reports. Joly, a native of France, is the first chief executive officer at Best Buy recruited from outside of the company. He most recently led the Minnetonka-based hospitality and travel company Carlson. Joly will begin his new role at Best Buy on the sales floor of several stores in the Twin Cities metro. He tells Reuters, "I want to not learn our businesses from the headquarters. I want to learn from the front line."

Longtime independent compensation expert, Don Delves, is no longer working with Best Buy's compensation committee. Bloomberg reports Delves quit after the Richfield electronics giant awarded more than 100 managers extra pay without linking it to performance -- a decision he opposed. According to an email statement, Best Buy said the incentive pay is "intended to ensure leadership continuity."

Best Buy is holding its annual shareholders meeting Thursday. The beleaguered Richfield-based electronics giant has had plenty of boardroom drama over the past three months, including the abrupt departure of company founder and largest shareholder Richard Schulze. After months of uncertainty, investors are eager to learn what's next for the world's largest consumer electronics retailer.

Despite some opposition from board members, Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly has agreed to let company founder Richard Schulze and his team of potential investors to interview eight to 10 key executives, the Star Tribune reports. Schulze, Best Buy's largest shareholder, has until mid-November to make a buyout offer to take the struggling Richfield-based electronics retailer private. He is under a 60-day deadline to present a proposal to the company’s Board of Directors.

David Einhorn, who leads New York-based Greenlight Capital Inc., has sold off his firm's 7.7 million shares, or 2.27 percent stake, in the Richfield-based electronics retailer. The Star Tribune reports Greenlight's losses could approach $100 million. Analysts tell the newspaper Einhorn's decision to exit could help former Best Buy chairman and founder Richard Schulze, who is exploring options for his 20 percent stake in the company, including an effort to take the company private.

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