CNBC's "Best Buy: The Big Box Fights Back" will premiere on Thursday, January 19th at 9pm ET.
The documentary will repeat that evening at 10pm/12am/1am ET.
BEST BUY: THE BIG BOX FIGHT BACK
What happens when you conquer the mountain, only to find there’s another, higher peak? This is the story of Best Buy, the ‘last man standing’ among national electronics retailers. With more than 1200 stores, the familiar big blue box outmaneuvered Circuit City, Comp USA, and others, only to face a new set of challengers even more daunting. Major retail discounters like Costco and Wal-Mart have chipped away at Best Buy’s bottom line, while Amazon.com and other online merchants have changed the way people shop, threatening the big box model. This CNBC original documentary takes viewers inside a company at a crossroads, fighting to stay ahead in an age when consumers armed with new comparison shopping tools and apps can sniff out the lowest prices in an instant.
CNBC’s Tyler Mathisen sits down with Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn, who says this is not the first time the company has been tested and won’t be the last. Dunn, a former Best Buy floor salesman, says what gives his chain an edge is its focus on service through its blue-shirts sales force and tech-savvy Geek Squad. The documentary takes viewers inside the sprawling Kentucky warehouse that calls itself Geek Squad City, where thousands of broken devices are repaired every day, and goes behind the scenes as store managers and employees prepare for the onslaught of Black Friday. Mathisen also travels to China, where Best Buy – after failing in some key overseas markets -- is pinning its hopes on global expansion.
About CNBC:
With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, CNBC World and CNBC HD+, CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news providing real-time data, analysis and information to more than 390 million homes worldwide. The network's 16 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m.) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC.com and CNBC Mobile Web (mobile.cnbc.com) offer real-time stock quotes, charts, analysis and both on-demand and live streaming video.
Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/networks/cnbc/