Best Buy closing 50 big boxes in 2012, less locations for you to buy your Apple gear
Best Buy will be closing 50 of their big box stores in 2012, 8 previously announced and 42 more just made official. Most of them will be shut down by mid-May, a last few by July. The release talks about employees, and how they'll try to find them positions within the organization, but it doesn't speak clearly about a strategy moving forward. Only:
I walk into an Apple Store and it's packed, and there easily a dozen if not a couple dozen Apple Store employees on the floor helping people. I walk into Best Buy and it's almost always empty -- not of customers but of employees. Whole sections are barren wastelands where's there's absolutely no one to help you. Or there's one poor staffer trying to help 3-6 people at once. I often leave, unable to find what I need or get any help, and I know I'm not alone. It's just not a good retail experience. And that's what Apple nails with the Apple Store.
Unfortunately, not everyone has an Apple Store near them, and if the Best Buy goes too, it makes it just that much harder to buy iPhones, iPods, iPads, and Macs in a brick and mortar store. Sure, pretty much everyone can buy online, but touching an Apple product, using them, is what drives sales.
Maybe this is a regrouping, a way for Best Buy to do more with less, and make the stores that remain better. If it's just cost cutting, however, well... seldom does starvation make something grow strong.
Full PR below, hit the source link for a complete list of the stores.
Source: Best buy
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Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.