Best Buy Enriches Customer Experience in Stores Across the U.S.; New Resources Appeal to Busy Moms, Avid Gamers, Home Theater Enthusiasts and Small Businesses.MINNEAPOLIS -- Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BBY BBY Best Buy (stock symbol) BBY Before Battle of Yavin (Star Wars) BBY BeBeyond (Chinese online community) ), the nation's largest electronics retailer, is expanding its national rollout of customer-focused in-store experiences for moms, gamers, home theater An audio/video entertainment center that has a large-screen TV and hi-fi system with three speakers in the front (left, right and center) and left and right speakers in the rear. Starting in the early 1990s, video inputs were added to stereo receivers and preamplifiers. enthusiasts and small business owners. The new experiences will launch at select Best Buy stores in markets across the U.S. beginning Aug. 29. Stores in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Hartford, New York Hartford is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,279 at the 2000 census. The Town of Hartford is centrally located in the county. and West Palm Beach will now offer Personal Shopping Assistants Personal shopping assistants are employees in some retail stores that can help busy people shop. Many times, a customer can call a personal shopping assistant and the shopping assistant will have a selection of products already lined up when they enter the store. , specially trained consultants who make shopping easier and more fun for mom. Test Drive -- the ultimate hands-on, in-store interaction for people who enjoy gaming -- will be unveiled at Best Buy stores in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Denver. In addition, Best Buy continues the expansion of Magnolia Home Theater and Best Buy For Business centers in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Hartford, Miami, Philadelphia, Providence and Tucson. These "store-within-a-store" offerings address the interests of home theater enthusiasts and small business customers with distinctive in-store service areas, broader product assortment and other specialized support. "Customers are at the heart of everything we do. Whether we're personalizing service or expanding product selection, we're constantly refining customer experiences to make shopping at Best Buy more fun and easy," said Mike Linton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Best Buy. Created with busy moms in mind, Best Buy's Personal Shopping Assistants offer one-on-one service and guidance, making the shopping experience more practical, efficient and fun. Assistants accompany customers through the store, listening to their needs, reviewing products together and helping them make sensible purchase decisions. Stores with Personal Shopping Assistants also provide a broader selection of products and services in the areas of digital imaging, kitchen, laundry, gaming, home theater and mobile video. Test Drive enables gaming enthusiasts to experiment with new hardware and software through expanded interactive gaming areas right in the store. Best Buy experts encourage customers to sample from a library of personal computer or video games See video game console. and an assortment of components, while offering advice and tips about how to sharpen their skills and get to the next level of gaming. Test Drive stores are equipped with gaming areas, including interactive displays that showcase online gaming See gaming. , surround sound An audio recording and playback system that uses five or more channels plus a subwoofer channel. See 5.1 channel and 3D audio. , wireless technology, personal computer upgrades and high-definition screens. Magnolia Home Theater is a specialty store-within-a-store that provides enthusiasts of state-of-the-art home theater with a portfolio of brands previously only available at high-end audio High-end audio is a term used to describe equipment that is purported by the manufacturers to be the best, regardless of the price. Definition of 'high-end' High-end audio video stores. Comfortable demonstration rooms encourage personal interaction with premium home theater brands such as Pioneer Elite, Sony, Fujitsu, MartinLogan and Stewart Filmscreen. This superior product offering is combined with expert service from home theater consultants, in-home system designers and custom installers. Catering to small-business owners and entrepreneurs, Best Buy For Business stores feature Business Pros, specialists trained in business solutions and services, and offer a broader selection of business technology. Best Buy also encourages networking among local small-business professionals through alliances with the Small Business Administration and other community-based partners. A total of 57 Best Buy stores ranging in size from 20,000 to 45,000 square feet will open their doors to these new customer experiences on Aug. 29. The converted stores join 35 existing Best Buy stores that introduced new customer experiences in June. In addition, since May 2005, the company has opened 21 new retail locations in the U.S. that feature one or more of the new customer experiences, including five stores opening tomorrow, Aug. 26. The enhancements reflect Best Buy's customer centricity Customer centricity refers to the orientation of a company to the needs and behaviours of its customers, rather than internal drivers (such as the quest for short term profit). operating model Operating Model is a term that is used in many contexts. In essence an operating model describes how an organization operates across both business and technology domains. The Operating Model describes what is important for the organization. , which refines the store experience to meet the unique needs and expectations of customers in individual markets. The model encourages Best Buy's "Blue Shirts" to get to know customers at a deeper level and provide service in a more personalized way. These latest additions bring the total number of converted existing and new Best Buy stores to 198 in a national rollout that will reach 235 to 285 stores by fiscal year end. About Best Buy Co., Inc. Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) is an innovative Fortune 100 growth company that continually strives to create superior customer experiences. Through more than 840 retail stores across the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and in Canada, our employees connect customers with technology and entertainment products and services that make life easier and more fun. We sell consumer electronics, home-office products, entertainment software, appliances and related services. A Minneapolis-based company, our operations include: Best Buy (BestBuy.com and BestBuyCanada.ca), Future Shop (FutureShop.ca), Geek Squad (GeekSquad.com) and Magnolia Audio Video Magnolia Audio Video is a specialty consumer electronics retailer in the United States. It currently operates 13 standalone stores throughout Washington, Oregon, and California. (Magnoliaav.com). We support our communities through employee volunteerism and grants from The Best Buy Children's Foundation. |
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