Origins of Best Buy
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Best Buy has recently established itself as the one of the largest electronic retailers in the world. They operate in Canada, USA, Mexico, China and the United Kingdom. Their expansion has been very impressive since they were only officially founded in 1983.
As a matter of fact, Best Buy was not originally established under this name. Richard Schulze initially founded this business under the name of “Sound of Music” in 1963. This Minnesota based store, sold appliances, videocassette recorders and laserdisc equipment and quickly expanded into a chain franchise. Within a span of 3 years, Sound of Music hit the $1 million mark in annual revenues, with its 3 stores.
However in 1981, a tornado hit and destroyed the franchises most successful store in Roseville, Minnesota, and led to a lot of lost revenue. Sound of Music responded with a “Tornado Sale” which they called the “Best Buy Sale” and held it in a warehouse with plenty of space to put the inventory and hold a large number of customers.
The “Best Buy” sale became an annual event, and it was very successful every time. This was because customers enjoyed shopping in comfortable big spaces for really cheap items. Sound of Music realized this, and in 1983, the company opened its first “superstore” under the new corporate name “Best Buy”, and things have just escalated from there.
Citation: “Best Buy.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Buy>.