Shop Talk
Retailers, consumers and prices
Check Out Line: Can new systems get Best Buy back on its game?
Check out the impending barrage of new video games.
It is all about motion sensors and 3D as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony introduce new systems and devices to get more people gaming.
Microsoft has a full-body motion-sensing system called Kinect. Nintendo has a new DS handheld device that can play games and show movies in 3D. Sony has the “Move,” which uses a wand like the Wii to simulate motion in games.
Which system will you buy? Don’t know? Sounds confusing?
That could be just the thing Best Buy needs to boost sales.
The largest U.S. electronics retailer posted worse-than-expected earnings amid sluggish sales and higher costs on Tuesday.
Some analysts are hoping that the new video games and 3D televisions could help lift Best Buy later this year.
Check Out Line: Duke wins, but there’s another bracket to fill
Check out a different kind of tournament bracket still underway.
The Duke Blue Devils may have won yet another college basketball title Monday night, but consumers can still make their “Sweet 16″ picks in Consumerist.com’s annual “Worst Company in America” tournament, which runs through April 26.
In its fifth year, the website, owned by Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, lets consumers vote for their least favorite companies in matchups much like the NCAA tournament. Starting with 32 “teams,” the tournament pairs companies in votes in which the “winner” (think about it, in a worst company vote you want to lose) advances to face the next competitor.
In the first round this year, Bank of America beat Citibank, GM beat Toyota and in an “upset” Cash4Gold beat defending “champion” AIG. Other companies that advanced included Walmart, Ticketmaster, United Airlines, Best Buy, Apple and Comcast, which has lost in the title game the last two years.
In addition to AIG, past winners have included Halliburton, Recording Industry Association of America and Countrywide. In last year’s final, AIG whipped Comcast 3,528 to 1,968 as voters took their frustration over the recession out on a company that was bailed out by the U.S. government.
“They were just constantly in the headlines,” Consumerist.com co-managing editor Ben Popken said of AIG. “They became a real focal point for what went wrong with the economy.”
Consumers nominate companies to compete in the annual tournament, which was created as a tongue-in-cheek way for shoppers to “bite back” using social media and the Internet, according to Consumerist.com. To be considered for inclusion the website now requires that companies must regularly provide products or services to consumers.
Check Out Line: Best Buy, Apple to sell iPads on Saturday
Check out how the long wait for the iPad is nearing its end.
Best Buy and Apple’s own stores will begin selling the much-hyped iPad tablet computer on Saturday morning.
Apple said on Monday that versions of the device with Wi-Fi wireless Internet capabilities will be available in all 221 U.S. Apple retail stores and most Best Buy stores, for prices ranging from $499 to $699. Models using 3G wireless systems will hit stores in late April.
Not that the roll out of the iPad, Apple’s biggest new product launch since the iPhone in 2007, has been without hiccups – on Sunday, Apple said recent orders of the iPads will only be shipped beginning April 12.
Also in the basket:
Check Out Line: A basket full of profits
Check out today’s earnings-palooza.
Two retailers topped analysts’ expectations after a strong holiday-season showing, while ConAgra Foods was helped by a makeover of its consumer foods segment.
Best Buy’s better-than-expected profit was helped by demand for devices such as notebook computers. The company’s 12 percent revenue jump came even as Walmart and other chains stepped up their electronics push for the holidays. Of course, this was also the first winter that they didn’t have to compete against the brick and mortar Circuit City stores.
Meanwhile, Signet — the owner of the Kay Jewelers and Jared chains — won some market share in the United States. Its profit came in 10 cents per share higher than analysts had anticipated.
Besides ConAgra, McCormick & Co also posted quarterly results in the food aisle. While the latest quarter came in ahead of expectations, the spice maker’s forecast signals that the current fiscal second quarter will be a weak one.
Also in the basket:
Check Out Line: Best Buy’s claims on market share gains
Check out the holiday sales results from Best Buy.
The top U.S. consumer electronics chain said its December same-store sales rose 8.2 percent, recovering from last year’s 6.5 percent drop.
The company attributed the gains to strong demand for notebook computers and mobile phones, and said it believes its domestic segment continued to “experience strong market share gains” for the month ended Nov. 30.
In a research note, Bernstein analyst Colin McGranahan said general market expectations were for Best Buy’s December same-store sales to rise between 8 and 10 percent.
“Overall we think the sales will be viewed as in-line to slightly below general expectations,” he wrote.
McGranahan said that given the stronger performance in Best Buy’s lower margin home office business (which includes notebook computers and mobile phones) and relative weakness in higher-margin categories, “negative gross margin mix will limit EPS upside.”
For its part, Best Buy said it still expects 2010 revenue and earnings within previously announced guidance ranges. On Dec. 15, Best Buy said it expected 2010 earnings in the range of $3.00 to $3.15 a share excluding items. The company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results and provide its initial 2011 earnings and new-store opening forecast on March 25.
Check Out Line: Honey, OK if I buy this $300 gadget?
Check out how the recession has redefined what “major purchase” means to American consumers.
Three times the number of consumers said “yes” compared with “no” when asked if they need to discuss a purchase of $250 to $300 with their spouse or partner to determine if they can afford it, according to a survey by BeemerReport.com. It was the first time “yes” topped “no” at that price level.
For many years, the definition of such a purchase that required consultation has been an item costing $500 or more, according to the survey. “This is the most significant change in the retail business over the last 15 years,” Britt Beemer, founder and CEO of America’s Research Group (ARG), said in a statement. “It’s the first time we’ve seen this kind of basic redefinition over many years of conducting consumer research.” One thousand consumers were surveyed by telephone on Dec. 5-6 and the poll has an error factor of plus or minus 3.8 percent.
American consumers are pulling back everywhere it seems as ARG said on Monday another survey showed an unusually low number of consumers plan to shop in the post-holiday week. Also in the basket:
Kraft stands firm on Cadbury bid
Black Friday: That time when retail CEOs don’t shop
How important is it for top executives to know what their customers think of the businesses that they run? Most agree that it helps, but on Black Friday, chief executives of two of the country’s most popular venues for frenzied, over-caffeinated shoppers said they don’t shop at their stores at that time of year.
We could think of plenty of good reasons not to hit the chaos scenes known as big-box retailers on Black Friday. For one thing, it’s crowded and you have to wait in line all day while you’re holding boxes of stuff. Add a couple of cranky toddlers, and you could envision hundreds of reasons to stay home.
The CEOs of Best Buy and Toys “R” Us have different explanations.
“This is my 25th year in a row I am working on Black Friday… so I don’t get the chance to shop,” Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn told Reuters in an interview. “I work it, they shop.”
Toys R Us CEO Jerry Storch prefers the old, reliable punching bag: He blames the media. “Mostly on Black Friday, I talk to you!” Storch said.
(Photo: Reuters)
Check Out Line: A Black Friday extravaganza!
Today’s a serious shopping day for serious shoppers.
Black Friday is no longer a sport for the leisurely shopper. From our late-night rounds, it became clear that people were lining up all over in the dead of night (and some earlier than that!) not just for the fun of it but out of necessity.
While many of the stoutest shoppers were grimly determined to get their deals and get out, there was some fun and holiday cheer.
At a Best Buy in Springfield, Pennsylvania at midnight, the 50 people in line created an atmosphere part football tailgate and part Department of Motor Vehicle tension. A card table was set up near the end of the line, but the reception on that end was quite frosty, possibly “enhanced” by the consumption of cheap beer.
But for the most part, the deals were the thing.
Take Nate Bryan of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, who arrived at 2:30 am EST this year to get a laptop for his daughter.
“It’s normally $1,000 and now cut in half. That $500 can go to other things,” he said.
This year will be huge when it comes to Black Friday. Coupons and deals site everywhere will be hit hard with traffic like http://www.trimback.com/ and others. Try doing your shopping on that day because things will be much cheaper
from MediaFile:
Barnes & Noble plans big (e-reader?) event
Brace yourself for the next salvo in the battle of the ebook readers (or electronic reading devices, or e-reader, or whatever you want to call them).
Barnes & Noble is planning a "major event" next Tuesday in New York to announce a mystery... something.
The bookseller won't say exactly what it will announce, but we'd be surprised if its NOT a digital book reader, to compete with Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader series.
In fact, Gizmodo says it has the goods on the device -- which it says has "a multi-touch display like an iPhone" -- and picture of the device. Click the link and take a look.
What do you think of this device (which may or may not be the actual product)? For that matter, what do you think about e-readers? Are you ready to buy one?
Let us know in the comment area.
from MediaFile:
Best Buy CEO: Don’t forget the gift card
Hey Brian Dunn, CEO of gadget lover's cathedral top electronics retailer Best Buy, what's on your short list of five great bang-for-your-buck devices for this holiday season? (Thanks to the CNN Money reporter for asking this question at a press conference today)
DUNN: My short list?
* (First), on my personal short list -- a netbook is definitely on my short list - and by the way it's a companion device. It's lightweight, it's small, it's great to take on a quick trip. * (Second) I think the HD Instinct is a very interesting smartphone. [Mediafile: That's Samsung's Instinct HD] * (Third) I love my Flip HD camcorder. That's a great piece. * Four, I really love the Ultra Thin OLED TVs are cool. [Mediafile: Um, cool yes. Bang for Buck? At about $2,000 for an 11-inch screen, let's just leave it at cool and move on. mkay?] * The fifth one, of course, is a gift card , that I can give to the people I love, so they can get whatever it is they want.
Well played, Brian. Well Played.
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Resident Shop Talk Expert
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