Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn has given OZ retailers a tip, “go for the underdog” when it comes to growing TV sales.Speaking at the CES show in Las Vegas Dunn said that said Best Buy retail stores get a bigger boost in TV sales in markets with Super Bowl teams that haven’t been in the big game recently.
“I’m always interested in rooting for teams that haven’t been in the Super Bowl for a while.” That gives sports fans in the home markets reason to upgrade their big-screen TV sets, he said.
He also said that the London Olympics would only produce a “small bump” while advocating domestic football such as the US Super Bowl to deliver a better TV sales result.
When asked what was working for Best Buy he claimed that one of the best product categories for Best Buy in
December was media tablets.
“Tablets were crazy, smoking hot for us and surpassed our aggressive expectations,” he said.
Asked about products that caught his eye at this year’s CES, Dunn mentioned ultrabook notebook computers and ultra-definition, or 4K, TV sets.
“I’m very excited about the ultra-notebooks,” Dunn said, adding that the PC business “needs a shot in the arm.”
The new thin and light, instant-on, always-connected notebooks, as well as Microsoft’s Windows 8 software launch later this year, should boost PC sales.
Dunn says he started out as a TV salesman 26 years ago; he loves the big screen televisions.
He notes that the Samsung TVs look terrific.
When it came to TV’s Dunn said “This is the best time in the history of man to go buy a television, they are so cheap”.
He says “we are a showcase for all our vendors.” Dunn claims that he is interested in moving into the Australian online retail market either directly or via a partner.
He said that online is very important, but he says neither online nor bricks alone is the answer, with a strong business investing in both.
He says the strategy is to be wherever the customer wants us to be.
Best Buy currently has 1,100 traditional stores in the U.S and almost 300 free-standing Best Buy mobile stores.
When asked about having vendor reps in the stores: Dunn says that he looks at it as a gift, it not necessarily a gift that he likes. Yes, there are pockets of third party labour in Best Buy stores. He says it has never been more important for them to provide a great customer experience. You have to motivate customers to get out of their homes to come to see us. “It is a call to action for us at Best Buy,” he says.
He said “I am not a guy who thinks the internet will swallow the whole world. Stores continue to have an important place in the ecosystem”
Dunn says they could double online sales in 3 years.
On 3D: He says he thought it would be more interesting to more people. He says it is a feature. Content has to get out there. It gets more interesting when you can get rid of the glasses.
On Smart TVs: He says it is a “massive trend”.
When asked about growth from home entertainment sales Dunn said that the key to great home entertainment experience is the audio.
On 4K televisions: “utterly spectacular.”
When asked about new categories Dunn nominated health care and automotive after care. He said that retailers had the opportunity to reduce the cost of health care by selling technology that connected health care professionals with consumers via the TV.
He closed by telling ChannelNews that if potential partners from Australia who wanted to contact him they could do so on brian.dunn@bestbuy.com.
