Best Buy's closing of two Bay Area stores comes after a $1.7 billion loss and a messy breakup with their CEO.
Electronics giant Best Buy has fallen on hard times. Rather, they’ve fallen flat on their faces.
Struggling to compete in a tough, crowded market with companies like Walmart, Amazon, and the entire freaking Internet, the Minnesota-based company has opted to close 50 stores across the country, including two in the Bay Area.
The closings continue a streak of bad luck for the company. CEO Brian Dunn, who announced the restructuring plan last month, resigned last week amid allegations of misconduct. According to Forbes, Dunn had an affair that went public, and was allegedly “fast and loose” with the salaries of underlings.
While the company launched an investigation, an interim CEO was appointed from the company’s board of directors.
The process of finding a permanent CEO is expected to take months, poor timing for a company that needs leadership now more than ever. The company hopes to find someone who understands modern consumer behavior and how to compete in the cutthroat online environment.
Oh yeah, and someone who won’t make the company’s executives look like characters from Mad Men.
The East Palo Alto and Pittsburg locations will close permanently by May 12. Employees and customers were notified Sunday morning. Best Buy says it will try to offer employees positions at other stores, and will offer severance packages to the rest.
Maybe when this turmoil settles, Best Buy will make a comeback and reclaim its market share. After this shot to the groin, though, maybe they’ll just find a new way to kick themselves.
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