04/30, 9:11am
Exchange of ownership for $774 million in cash, stock, to help simplify business
Electronics retailer Best Buy is selling its stake in Carphone Warehouse Group to co-owner Carphone Warehouse, in its continued efforts to financially turn itself around. The sale, which sees Best Buy exchange its holdings in the European entity for £500 million ($774 million) in cash and stock according to a statement, effectively ends Best Buy's faltering expansion into the continent.
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04/09, 9:19am
Best Buy to ship HTC One on T-Mobile on April 19th
The HTC One will be available on T-Mobile on April 19th, according to the Best Buy website. The electronics retailer is carrying the smartphone at $249 when bought with a T-Mobile contract, or $700 off-contract, writes TmoNews. T-Mobile itself will also sell the HTC One without a service contract for $99, but it will still require monthly payments for the phone on its own, as per the new UnCarrier scheme the company is implementing.
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04/04, 6:20am
Samsung to tackle Apple in Best Buy stores across the US
Samsung has made official its rumored plan to introduce mini Samsung stores within 1,400 Best Buy stores throughout the US, reports the New York Times . To be dubbed ‘Samsung Experience’ stores, the new retail spaces in Best Buy will be dedicated to showcasing its consumer electronics lines, with particular emphasis on its mobile devices including smartphones, tablets and notebooks. The mini stores will also include Samsung product specialists who will be present to assist customers for both sales and technical support.
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04/03, 5:29pm
Walmart iPad mini drops to $299
US retailers Best Buy and Walmart have begun new online sales on iPads. The former is selling third-generation iPads at up to 30 percent off, for instance putting a 32GB Wi-Fi model at $384, $165 off retail. A 16GB 4G iPad, meanwhile, is going for $406.
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03/29, 12:04pm
Pop-up shops to help in Galaxy S4 launch
Best Buy is reportedly going to play host to a number of pop-up Samsung shops in a number of its stores ahead of the Galaxy S4 launch in April. The temporary shops will apparently resemble the same "store-in-a-store" concept that Apple currently employs in Best Buy branches, and is said to provide customers more than one Galaxy S4 to try out.
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03/25, 10:36pm
Ex-CEO returns as advisor to assist in company turnaround
Electronics retailer Best Buy announced today that co-founder Richard Schulze is rejoining the company in its quest to turn its struggling finances around. In a prepared statement trumpeting his return, Schulze said he is returning to “support the initiatives” put in place by the new CEO, Hubert Joly. Schulze is not returning to the board of directors.
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03/18, 10:54am
EOS-b has 18MP sensor, EF-S 18-55mm lens, $800 pricetag
A previously-unannounced camera from Canon appeared on the Best Buy website, shortly before being taken down. The listing on the retail site described a camera as an EOS-b 18-megapixel digital SLR, combined with an EF-S 18-55mm zoom lens, and that it was available for pre-order at a cost of $800.
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03/01, 12:19pm
Quarterly results show $377 million loss for period
The attempted buyout of Best Buy by founder Richard Schulze has failed. The deadline has passed for Schulze and his team of investors without a bid having been placed for the ailing electronics retailer, with the news of the failure coming at the same time as the fourth quarter results showed the company made a loss of $377 million for the period, continuing its current financial trend.
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02/27, 7:58pm
Layoffs latest in 'renew blue' program to cut company costs
According to reports, Best Buy corporate slashed 400 jobs at its Richfield, MN headquarters on Wednesday. The reduction is part of the "Renew Blue" initiative, attempting to restore the company's sales and profit levels and fight off online competitors with lower expenses. The company warns of more cuts to come. Best Buy says this round of job cuts don't include any of its retail sales force or store closures. Last year, the company closed 50 stores in early phases of the operation.
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02/13, 6:50am
More 128GB version in stores by end of week
Microsoft has confirmed that more stock of its Surface Pro will be heading to stores. The head of the Surface team, Panos Panay, posted on Twitter that more 64GB models are shipping to Staples, Best Buy, Microsoft Stores and for online orders, while the 128GB variant will be reaching Best Buy and Microsoft Stores by Saturday.
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02/07, 12:32pm
Best Buy offers gift card with phone activations
Best Buy is currently offering complimentary $50 gift cards to all customers that active a new mobile phone. The offer is valid on Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile phones activated with a two-year agreement at Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile or BestBuy.com. To receive the gift car customers must first register their mobile phone number, and up to four other numbers of a family plan, on Best Buy's website before February 9. All registered numbers will then be able to receive the $50 reward by activating a new phone anytime before December 31.
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02/05, 9:54am
Kickstarter game console gets support from Best Buy, Target
The Ouya game console will go on sale in stores, shortly after it ships to backers of it's Kickstarter drive. Amazon.com, Best Buy, GameStop and Target will be stocking the Android-powered console when it goes on sale to the general public in June, after orders on the Ouya website ship in April, and after the Kickstarter backers receive theirs in March.
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02/01, 4:32pm
Best Buy adds extra $20 discount for in-store pickups
Both Amazon and Best Buy are offering new discounts on the MacBook Pro. Best Buy's prices are part of a two-day sale, running today and Saturday. A 13-inch, 2.5GHz non-Retina Pro for example costs $1,050 at the retailer versus Apple's normal $1,199 pricetag. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a 15-inch, 2.6GHz Retina Pro is $199 below Apple's cost at $2,600. For any Pro, Best Buy is offering an extra $20 off if a person orders online but picks up at a store.
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01/25, 4:20pm
Steep discount may signal refresh of line imminent
Retailer Best Buy launched a Winter Doorbuster Days sale on Friday. Highlighting the sale is an offer of $200 off on select MacBook Air models. Both the 11-inch and 13-inch models are included with the sale, with pricing ranging from $800 to $1300 depending on configuration and screen size. The sale price is honored both online and in stores, but currently, all models of the laptop are out of stock online.
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01/04, 12:18pm
Best Buy singles out iPhone 5 sale
A number of retailers, including Best Buy and Toys R Us, have complained to attorney generals in several states about Walmart advertising practices, the Wall Street Journal reports. The complaints generally argue that Walmart is using inaccurate pricing or non-equivalent products to lay claim to the lowest prices. Best Buy, though, has specifically singled out problems with a Walmart iPhone 5 sale.
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12/10, 5:13pm
Discount available for largest carriers
Best Buy has rolled out its latest holiday promotion, slashing $50 off iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 pricing. New or upgrade-eligible subscribers can now pick up a 16GB iPhone 5 for $150 with a two-year contract, while the iPhone 4S currently starts at $50. The discounts include both white and black variants connected to Verizon, Sprint and AT&T.
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12/07, 10:18am
Attempts to trump Target, RadioShack deals
Best Buy is now offering a $25 gift card with any online iPhone 5 purchase. The bonus applies to any model or carrier, although the card can't be put towards the cost of the phone itself, and is only available to people activating a phone for a two-year contract. As a plus, though, cards are being awarded for both in-store pickup and delivery orders.
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11/27, 10:16am
Black and red design set for December 7 release
[Updated after official announcement] Rumors that Nintendo will be releasing a smaller version of the Wii have been confirmed, after an image and release date for the Wii Mini mistakenly appeared on Best Buy Canada's website before any official announcement. Shortly after, Nintendo confirmed the console's existence as a Canada-exclusive device, with its size being not the only change to the popular game system.
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11/25, 8:50pm
Online sales on Thanksgiving also increased
Black Friday e-commerce spending by US shoppers has passed the $1 billion milestone for the first time. The amount of online retail activity for Friday, November 23rd has been called the "heaviest online spending day to date in 2012," with sales increasing 26 percent compared to Black Friday last year.
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11/20, 10:55am
Domestic revenues drop 4.7 percent compared to last year
As previously warned, Best Buy suffered a continuing operations loss of $13 million for the quarter, according to its latest results. This is down from the $173 million in profit from the same period last year, with revenue also declining year-on-year to $10.75 billion from $11.15 billion, and the domestic segment operating income dropping from $249 million to just $50 million for the same period.
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11/12, 1:50pm
Acer C7 comes with 100GB free Google Drive storage
Just a day after images of it leaked online, Acer has revealed pricing and availability for its new Acer C7 Chromebook. The next-generation Chromebook from Acer will be available starting tomorrow on the Google Play Store, at Best Buy stores, and on BestBuy.com. It will retail for $199.
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11/05, 10:11am
Nintendo launches Wii U Sampling Tour across US retailers
The Nintendo Wii U won't become available for sale in the US until November 18, but potentially interested buyers can try the system out starting November 5. Nearly 5,000 demonstration booths will be set up across US retailers that include Best Buy, GameStop, Target, Walmart, and Toys 'R' Us. They will either let shoppers play one of the launch titles or offer a video presentation of the console's features.
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10/24, 11:30pm
Beleaguered company awaits Schulze's purchase offer
Electronics retailer Best Buy has issued a warning that earnings and same-store sales would be less than expected for its third quarter. Compounding the losses, U.S. business president Mike Vitelli will depart the company at the end of the fiscal year with a lump-sum payment of $1.45 million, and the executive vice president of U.S. operations, Tim Sheehan, will leave the company at the end of October.
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10/23, 10:10am
Microsoft offers 250GB Xbox for $99, with Kinect for $150 with Xbox LIVE subscription
Microsoft is expanding its subsidy for the Xbox 360 console that started with the 4GB model back in May. Now, there are three choices, with potential buyers capable of picking the 4GB console with Kinect or a 250GB console without for the same $99. The third option adds Kinect to the 250GB console but bumps the price of entry to $149.
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10/21, 10:34pm
New Windows Phone 8 handsets available for preorder
Best Buy and AT&T have begun releasing pricing information on the two best-known Windows Phone 8 models, the Lumia 920 Nokia and HTC's Windows Phone 8X. Best Buy is pricing the 8X at $100, while Nokia's flagship sells for $149; both prices are contingent upon a two-year contract. AT&T has announced that it will be stocking both devices, and pre-orders for the two handsets began today.
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10/17, 2:10pm
9.7-inch Android tablet to undercut competition
The recently revealed Insignia Flex Tablet from Best Buy will retail for between $239 and $259 when it goes on sale November 11. This according to sources familiar with the matter, who say that Best Buy's in-house brand tablet will be sold only at Best Buy. The new tablet significantly undercuts the tablet market-leading iPad as well as other competitors like Microsoft's Surface.
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10/12, 9:42pm
Touch-enabled PCs on display
Though consumers will still have to wait another two weeks before the official launch of Windows 8, PCs running Microsoft's latest operating system have begun showing up in some retail outlets to promote the official beginning of pre-ordering Win8 systems. Electronista stopped in to a Best Buy in Charlottesvillle, VA, finding three working and official Windows 8 units on display, apparently there for customers to familiarize themselves with the new operating system.
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10/12, 11:56am
Looks to combat showrooming this holiday season
Best Buy will provide online price-matching this holiday season in an effort to reverse a trend in which customers come into the store to check out items only to leave and buy them online at a lower price. Spokespersons from the retailer have spoken with The Wall Street Journal, saying that the price matching plan represents an opportunity for Best Buy to increase its close rate, or the percentage of people walking into the store and leaving with a purchase. The retailer is said to still be working out some aspects of its price-matching program.
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10/12, 11:15am
Best Buy to launch 9.7-inch Insignia tablet on November 11
Best Buy has just shown off preliminary specs and one image of an upcoming Insignia-branded tablet on its Facebook page. Called the Flex Tablet, it will have a 1GHz, dual-core processor and a 9.7-inch touchscreen, though the resolution isn't yet being revealed. Android 4.0 will be onboard.
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10/03, 1:50am
First steps of due diligence underway, deal valued at $11 billion
Best Buy founder and ex-CEO Richard Shulze and at least four private equity firms have started reviewing the financial data of the beleaguered chain in the first steps toward would could wind up being a $11 billion buyout, according to people familiar with the matter. Schulze is negotiating with the equity firms to determine how much of his 20 percent stake in the company he would have to shell out in a bit and what role he would fill after the takeover.
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09/21, 1:26pm
Parties blame low shipments from Apple
Best Buy, Walmart, and Sam's Club are delaying sales of iPhone 5 preorders to some customers, MacRumors notes. One person says that they received an email from Best Buy warning him that he wouldn't have his phone today, and that it might take up to 28 days before it's in stock. The person claims moreover that he was the first person to preorder a black 64GB model at his location, and that all of his friends got the same email.
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08/27, 11:56pm
Previously rebuffed ex-CEO has 60 days to make first proposal
Founder and former CEO Richard Schulze and Best Buy report that they have come to an agreement that will allow Schulze to continue the attempt to buy the beleaguered electronics retailer. The agreement will allow Schulze access to confidential financial data and allow him to form an investment group with private equity to make the bid to supplement the 20 percent of stock he already owns.
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08/22, 8:10pm
Move is latest in effort to revisit the company's prior success
Electronics retailer Best Buy has suspended profit forecasts and share buyback programs for the remainder of calendar year 2012 -- to give its CEO time to build a turnaround plan for the beleaguered company. The move comes just days after the naming of a new CEO and weak quarterly earnings caused by continued financial challenges in markets Best Buy serves.
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08/20, 6:20pm
Hubert Joly joins Best Buy, hoped to turn company around
Best Buy has decided on its new chief executive in the wake of former CEO Brian Dunn's personal conduct-related departure. The announcement of Hubert Joly as the new CEO for the troubled electronics retailer came shortly after company founder Richard Schulze was said to have rejected an offer of due diligence in his attempt to take the business back into private hands, although conflicting statements cast some doubt as to the accuracy of this sequence of events.
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08/13, 9:24am
Vendors prep for impending iPhone update
Two major third-party US retailers, Best Buy and Target, have instituted new price cuts for the iPhone, notes AllThingsD. Target is now selling 16GB AT&T and Verizon models of the iPhone 4S for $179 on contract. Best Buy, meanwhile, has cut the price for the 8GB iPhone 4 for both carriers to just $50.
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08/06, 12:43pm
Funds for deal to come from Richard Schulze, private equity
The founder of Best Buy has offered to buy the company for around $8.5 billion, reports say. Richard Schulze, who resigned as company chairman after ex-CEO Brian Dunn was investigated for “personal misconduct” issues, has offered to pay $24 to $26 per share for the retailer in an effort to take the company private, according to Bloomberg. Best Buy has confirmed receiving the proposal and says it will be considering it in the near future.
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07/27, 10:55am
Retailers try to clear out stock ahead of sixth-gen phone
Best Buy has dropped the price of the iPhone 4 at its US online store to $50 with a two-year contract. The change applies to models for all three major iPhone carriers, namely AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. It also appears to be a more permanent discount, unlike the sales some vendors have held during the past few months.
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07/13, 12:30am
Yahoo, Phandroid break-ins expose well over 1 million users
Several significant data breaches have occurred over the last several days, and some criminal activity using previously stolen data has also occurred very recently -- a reminder to users security on e-commerce sites is not solely in the hands of the merchant. Yahoo Voices experienced a break-in with more than 400,000 email and plain-text password combinations were leaked onto the internet. Additionally, Android news and community site Phandroid's million-strong user information database is potentially out in the open as well. Best Buy is currently seeing user credentials farmed from previous break-ins being used to fraudulently purchase easily cash-convertible items, such as Xbox Live or Playstation Network code cards.
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07/08, 2:00pm
Now available at four retailers
Best Buy and its Canadian subsidiary Future Shop are now accepting pre-orders for Google's Nexus 7 tablet. The product pages for both retailers show the Nexus 7 arriving at their warehouses on August 10. Both retailers price the 16GB model of the Nexus 7 for $260, $10 more than its listing on Google's Play Store.
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07/06, 2:20am
Less stock, more emphasis on employee-provided solutions
In an effort to stave off the effects of a stagnant economy and bad business decisions, electronics retailer Best Buy is converting some of its stores' sales floors to resemble the interior of Apple retail establishments. Best Buy said its slimmer store is focused less on display of inventory, and more on connecting customers with employees who can knowledgeably assist in purchasing, or who can help the consumer with a technical issue.
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06/28, 3:01pm
Chromebooks also reaching Currys stores in UK
Google has revealed that Chromebooks will be headed to retail store shelves in several markets. In the company's day-two I/O keynote, an executive noted that 100 Best Buy locations throughout the US are set to stock Samsung's Series 5 550 Chromebook as of today, while UK shoppers will be able to purchase the device at local retailer Currys.
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06/26, 12:00pm
Study blames discrepancy on carrier's recent debut
The Sprint version of the iPhone is selling much better at third-party vendors than it is through Apple Stores, according to a Consumer Intelligence Research Partners study. The firm polled iPhone buyers over the course of two three-month periods, and recorded that just 9 percent of shoppers in Apple Stores went with Sprint. By comparison, the ratio was 19 percent at Best Buy, and 18 percent at warehouse clubs and other mass-market retailers.
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06/15, 7:23pm
Two-year contract required, runs Android 4.0
Best Buy is now offering the HTC One S on T-Mobile for $99, half off the original price when it debuted on the network in April. Off-contract, the handset still sells for its regular price of $650.
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05/17, 8:00pm
New offers from Best Buy, Sam's Club follow's Sprint offer
On the heels of similar offers from Target and Radio Shack, chains Best Buy, Sam's Club, and Sprint have succumbed to peer pressure. Best Buy and Sam's Club have reduced the price of the iPhone 4 8GB model to $50 with a new two-year contract. As reported earlier, Sprint is offering "at least" $100 off a new contract on an iPhone 4S with the exchange of any prior iPhone.
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05/09, 6:27pm
HTC Evo 4G LTE on Sprint can now be preordered
The HTC Evo 4G LTE has become available for preorder from Best Buy. The Sprint handset, which Electronista was able to try out last month, is being promoted by the electronics retailer with a $50 gift card for those that take up the offer ahead of the May 18 release date.
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05/02, 4:07pm
Nikon's $700 D3200 kit now available at Best Buy
As promised, Nikon's latest D3200 DSLR camera is now shipping over at Best Buy in black, with the red version still listed as coming soon. The $700 bundle includes an 18-55 kit lens and the $60 WU-1a wireless adapter isn't yet available, but Best Buy does allow customers to pre-order it. The accessory will let users send photos wirelessly to their smartphones or tablets on the go.
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04/30, 7:30pm
New prepaid plan, 4G hotspot due on May 1
Verizon Wireless has added new tiers to its phone and data prepaid offerings starting on May 1. A new $80 smartphone plan includes unlimited talk and text messaging while allotting 1GB of data use per month. At the same time, the carrier will ship the Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi 4510L with prepaid mobile packages.
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04/26, 4:35pm
Best Buy to shut down Connect business on June 1
Best Buy Connect, the branded mobile 3G and 4G data service that went live in June of 2010 is now being discontinued, Engadget learned. A leaked memo indicates that new activations will no longer be accepted, effective immediately. Current customers will see their service end on June 1.
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04/20, 8:45pm
TiVo Premiere XL4 to come to Best Buy
TiVo is quietly reviving the Premiere Elite DVR as its range-topping model. Badged as the Premiere XL4, the quad-tuner box should come to Best Buy stores on April 22 for $400. The Premiere and Premiere XL are staying in place at $150 and $250 each.
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04/18, 6:25pm
Best Buy Behind the Tiles hopes to lure buyers
Best Buy and Microsoft have teamed up on a Behind the Tiles series of events to spur on Windows Phone sales that borrow a handful of Apple cues. Running from Thursday to as late as May 17, some stores will be holding workshops that both let users try the overall lineup and undertake a "deep dive" into the Lumia 900 with an instructor. The events will be catered, and even developers and enterprise users will get the "latest info," Microsoft said.
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