Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) continues to sit atop the consumer electronics universe with its largest competitor (Circuit City) now defunct and mass retailers struggling to keep their consumer electronics categories as beefed up as Best Buy's is. So, with that in mind, what is Best Buy's next trick? How about selling eco-friendly vehicles?
Can you see the place where you buy flat-screen televisions and laptop computers selling scooters and Segways? That's what is going on in 19 Best Buy locations on the west coast already. Add to this Best Buy's roll-out of the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle this summer and the company may be on to something. After all, it has locations throughout the U.S., something most eco-friendly vehicle dealers would love to have but can't. Is Best Buy the next national vehicle dealer?
It could certainly become that. Now, buying a $12,000 motorcycle is a touch more than plunking $500 for a new laptop, but the fact that eco-friendly cycles (and later, cars?) will have the foot traffic only bodes well for eco-vehicle manufacturers, in addition to upping Best Buy's profile among the eco-conscious.
Admittedly, this is a merchandising exercise for Best Buy as it evolves its retail floor model -- but it could develop into something very important to the company in the midst of President Obama's energy initiatives.
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