Best Buy details store closures following $1.7 billion loss
updated 08:25 am EDT, Sun April 15, 2012
Best Buy lists 'big-box' store closures
Embattled electronics retail giant Best Buy has published the full list of 50 ‘big-box’ store closures that it targeted for the 2013 fiscal year. With eight of the stores already either shutdown given notice, the list contains the remaining 42 stores to get the chop. Highlighting the extent of the company’s financial position, most of the remaining stores will cease trading as soon as May 12.
The company’s statement on the matter says that it has notified staff and has offered them the opportunity to apply for other positions within the organization. Affected staff who are unable to obtain a job, or who do not wish to move to take a new position, will be offered a transition severance package.
Best Buy posted a $1.7 billion loss for the last quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The store closures are a key component in its current strategy, which aims to save $800 million by its fiscal 2015. Additional savings will come from corporate restructuring. The pressure from Internet sales and a shift from traditional TV viewing are among the reasons being offered for the company’s poor performance.
To add to Best Buy’s woes, its CEO Brian Dunn was forced to resign under controversial circumstances. Echoing the sacking of Mark Hurd as CEO of HP, Dunn is alleged to have engaged in inappropriate conduct with a 29 year-old woman working at one of Best Buy’s leadership training facilities.
