S21E15: Why Best Buy Is Winning When Everyone Expected It to Die

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Best Buy was supposed to be dead. Instead, it just raised its full-year sales and earnings outlook.

In this episode, Jenny Rae and Namaan dig into why Best Buy is outperforming in a “K-shaped” economy, even as everyone keeps blaming the consumer and inflation.

They break down:

• How Best Buy is still winning on laptops, gaming, and smartphones
• Why AI-enabled laptops and new consoles are quietly driving an upgrade cycle
• The role of predictable sale moments (Prime Day, back-to-school, Black Friday)
• What Best Buy is doing in-store vs. online that pure e-commerce players can’t match
• How services and better execution matter more than macro excuses

They also talk about what this says about the American consumer, why sentiment and spending keep telling different stories, and what levers they’d pull if they were running Best Buy for the next five years.

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Chapters:

• 02:10 Black Friday: From Chaos Day to 2-Month Season
• 04:45 Best Buy’s Unexpected Earnings Beat
• 07:20 What’s Actually Selling: Phones, Laptops, Gaming, AI Devices
• 10:05 Why Best Buy Wins In-Store (When It Shouldn’t)
• 13:00 Digital Channel Strength: Website, Pick-Up, Inventory, UX
• 15:40 The Consumer Is Fine (Again): Spending vs Sentiment
• 18:25 Best Buy’s Revenue Declines & Store Footprint Questions
• 21:05 Margin Breakdown & Where Best Buy Really Makes Money
• 24:10 The Future: Services, Smaller Stores, and Growth Levers

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