Best Buy: Grasping at Straws • Hacker News Board

Re: Best Buy: Grasping at Straws

#31

Post by bradleyland » Fri, Mar 30, 2012, 1:37 PM UTC

prodigal_erik wrote: post #24

jballanc wrote: post #15

When I, and Ron Johnson, still worked for Apple, he told a story that has stuck with me. As he told it, he was talking with the CEO of Williams Sonoma who was complaining about the difficulty of getting people to make return visits. "If you need a pot, you come in to the Williams Sonoma, buy a pot and leave. You don't come back unless you need another pot or something else for the kitchen...and how often is that?" Jo…

It didn't, though. Apple was circling the drain for many years until the iPod and iPhone saved them. At this point they've even taken "computer" out of their name.

You're making an argument that the parent isn't. No one in their right mind would claim that the iPod and iPhone aren't major contributors to Apple's current condition, but are the two mutually exclusive? Are you claiming that the Apple retail strategy hasn't contributed to Apple's success? That seems just as silly.

I don't believe that there are many of Apple's decisions you can cherry pick and still arrive at the same Apple you have today. The "experience" at the Apple store is definitely one of the decisions that are inextricable from Apple's overall success.

Re: Best Buy: Grasping at Straws

#32

Post by webwanderings » Fri, Mar 30, 2012, 4:46 PM UTC

tzs wrote: post #2

Someone at Reddit pointed out something interesting, in response to a different article covering much of the same information. Back when Circuit City was around, Best Buy was aggressively responding to Circuit City opening new stores by trying hard to put a Best Buy near that Circuit City. They would do this even if there was already a Best Buy within a few miles of that location. Now that Circuit City is gone, Best…

Isn't hhgregg the old Circuit City come back? These retail stores don't really go anywhere.

Re: Best Buy: Grasping at Straws

#33

Post by tzs » Fri, Mar 30, 2012, 4:52 PM UTC

webwanderings wrote: post #32

tzs wrote: post #2

Someone at Reddit pointed out something interesting, in response to a different article covering much of the same information. Back when Circuit City was around, Best Buy was aggressively responding to Circuit City opening new stores by trying hard to put a Best Buy near that Circuit City. They would do this even if there was already a Best Buy within a few miles of that location. Now that Circuit City is gone, Best…

Isn't hhgregg the old Circuit City come back? These retail stores don't really go anywhere.

I've never even heard of hhgregg. Checking their store locator, I see why: they don't appear to have any stores west of the Mississippi.

They have been taking over some old Circuit City stores, but only in their regions where hhgregg already was.

Circuit City was nationwide (and so presumably many of the redundant Best Buy stores are nowhere near an hhgregg).