News of the end of the Brian Dunn era at Best Buy broke today while I was flying from New York to attend the HTSA meeting in San Diego.
I saw the news on my Delta flight while watching CNBC, and although I was surprised, I was not completely shocked. What was surprising was he resigned and left a lot sooner than many thought he would.
Dunn was CEO of Best Buy for almost three years and was handpicked by founder and chairman Dick Schulze. Both men, along with Brad Anderson, spent the bulk of their careers at Best Buy. If speculation is correct, whoever becomes the new CEO may not have that same background.
It is true that the challenges Best Buy faces cannot be cured by the replacement of Dunn as CEO. As I wrote in a recent blog, the problems and challenges Best Buy faces are not entirely its fault. The company’s problems are certainly not the fault of Dunn, who is well-liked in the industry.
But the CE industry has changed and Best Buy has to do so as well to survive. Speculation is that the new CEO will have to be savvy with online sales so that it will be seamless with its brick-and-mortar stores.
And that’s just one of the challenges the chain faces.
Best Buy’s new era begins now. Schulze has been able to turn around the chain’s fortunes before. Picking the right CEO for this new era in CE retailing is just the first step.
