Best Buy posts
FeedPosted Nov 20th 2009 11:20AM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), Best Buy (BBY)
Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) were once favorite friends. When Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple's board of directors, though, the gloves came off. With Apple's venerable and extremely popular iPhone selling for $99 (for the base edition), Google's "Android" phones -- made by several manufacturers and sold by many carriers -- have not matched those low Apple prices. Not any more.
Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY) is selling the Samsung Moment and the HTC Hero for $99 through December -- matching Apple's iPhone pricing for a two-year contract. That's with no rebates, either. So, the question is this: will Google's Android-powered phones start gaining traction on the iPhone? With AT&T's (T) penchant for poor service and for exorbitant calling plan prices, this may be enough to get those on the iPhone fence switching over to a touchscreen Android phone.
Continue reading Android-powered phones set stage for holiday competition with iPhone
Posted Nov 16th 2009 5:40PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Internet, Starbucks (SBUX), Target Corp. (TGT), Best Buy (BBY), Media World, Technology
Imagine taking the personal connections and interactions that occur every day on the likes of Facebook and Twitter... and bringing them to bear on an education. To a large extent, this hasn't been done yet, but the potential is profound. In a new report by the Center for Community Survey for Student Engagement, two-year programs aren't taking advantage of the tools at their disposal -- plenty of growth is still possible. Kay McClenney, director of the CCSSE, says, "Colleges are not taking advantage of that particular set of tools for making connections with students to the extent that they could."
Continue reading Community colleges missing the social media boat
Posted Nov 4th 2009 8:40AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Blockbuster Inc 'A' (BBI), Best Buy (BBY), Media World, Technology
Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) may be the world's largest electronics retailer, but it realizes that it faces a huge threat to a hefty chunk of its business. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is moving plenty of movies and other soon-to-be former DVD fare through iTunes, staking a claim on a business that once belonged to Best Buy. The big box store is getting ready to fight back (finally?).
Using technology it's licensing from Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC), Best Buy is opening an online store for movies and television shows. Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn says this move will expand the company's presence in services and will bolster company loyalty. That's the press release version, of course. The reality is that Best Buy needed to do something to protect this portion of its revenue and probably should have made the move several years ago.
Continue reading Best Buy follows Amazon into the clouds
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 11:40AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Best Buy (BBY), Analyst initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- FBR Capital upgraded Overseas Shipholding (NYSE: OSG) to Outperform from Market Perform following the Q3 results as it believes the worst quarters are behind the company. The firm raised its target on shares to $48 from $35.
- Deutsche Bank upgraded Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD) to Hold from Sell following the Q3 results to reflect the company's lower costs. The firm raised its target on shares to $22 from $18.
- RBC Capital upgraded Enbridge (NYSE: EEQ) to Sector Perform from Underperform after the company's partnership produced significantly higher than expected DCF. In addition, the firm raised its price target by $5 per unit to $46 to reflect an improved distribution schedule and more favorable debt leverage.
- Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
- BioForm Medical (NASDAQ: BFRM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
- Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ART, BBY, HEV, NVDA, OSG, RDS.A ...
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 1:20PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Internet, Competitive strategy, Dell (DELL), Starbucks (SBUX), Marketing and advertising, Next big thing, Target Corp. (TGT), Best Buy (BBY)
Once upon a time, retailers measured success by the number of people walking by in the mall, how many entered the store, the percentage they spent, and basket size. Now, a world of zeroes and ones has changed their perspective entirely. Social media is expected to be the star during the coming holiday season, with retailers pushing Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter content to get in front of consumers and affect either online or in-store purchases. Smaller Christmas budgets are expected, so the fight is on to garner as large a share as possible of a shrinking pie.
Of course, nobody would come out and say, "Social media is nonsense, and I'm not getting anything for my investment." So, when the likes of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), JCPenney (NYSE: JCP), and Target (NYSE: TGT) say that social media is connecting them with their customers and leading to more effective campaigns and product launches, do take it with a grain of salt. What can't be ignored, however, is that they're committing more resources to social media marketing, even though it's still far too soon to tell if it will be effective.
Continue reading Retailers push social media, want bigger wallet share for Christmas
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 8:30AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, eBay (EBAY), Wal-Mart (WMT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Best Buy (BBY)
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), simply put, had a quarter to die for, the kind that all shareholders have on their wish lists. The Q3 numbers, which were released on Thursday after the bell, speak for themselves. Net sales: up 28%. Operating income: up 62%. Per-share profit: up 67% to 45 cents. Free cash flow for the trailing twelve months: up 98%. Yep, Amazon's fundamentals seem to be heading in the right direction.
According to our earnings preview, Wall Street was on record as wanting to see 33 cents per share on the bottom line. Amazon's management did a fine job of supplying further evidence to the market that the company's online business model is not only here to stay, but that it should provide shareholders with a significant amount of value over time.
Continue reading Amazon's third quarter is just what shareholders wanted
Posted Sep 19th 2009 2:10PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Microsoft (MSFT), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Best Buy (BBY), Kroger Co (KR), FedEx Corp (FDX), Fortune Brands (FO), Oracle Corp (ORCL)
Continue reading Earnings highlights: Adobe, Best Buy, FedEx, Kroger, Monsanto, Oracle, Palm ...
Posted Sep 16th 2009 1:00PM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Competitive strategy, Best Buy (BBY)
Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) has been the subject of media speculation since the first quarter implosion of now-defunct retailer Circuit City. Billions of consumer electronics revenue dollars needed to go somewhere, after all. Based on Best Buy's most recent quarterly results, revenue dollars aren't just spilling into its coffers, even as the default market share gain from Circuit City went nuts last quarter. Will it continue?
All indications point to yes. Best Buy is the lone nationwide big-box consumer electronics retailer that is making all kinds of cutting-edge moves to remain relevant as its products and customers change. The theory around Best Buy's revenue drop in the last two quarters centers on more consumer electronics business going to mass retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), where customers have been taking refuge from the economic storm in the U.S. since last fall. Can Wal-Mart really compete head-to-head for dedicated consumer electronics customers once the money fog lifts as it is starting to do?
Continue reading Can Best Buy revenue soon match huge gains in market share?
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