How Best Buy Grew From an Audio Store Into a Technology Retailer

Long before customers could compare electronics prices online, a damaged Minnesota stereo store gave Sound of Music an unexpected chance to sell differently. After a tornado struck its Roseville location, the retailer held a stripped-down, lower-price promotion called the “Tornado Sale.”

That event became a memorable part of Best Buy’s corporate history. More consequential over the decades was the changing role of its stores: from selling audio equipment to offering a wider range of technology, online fulfillment and hands-on support. Expansion into new markets and services brought successes as well as costly retreats.

A Quick Look at the History of Best Buy

From a Stereo Specialist to a Broader Retail Experiment

The business began in 1966 when Schulze and a partner opened Sound of Music, a store serving customers shopping for stereo and audio equipment. The operating company, Sound of Music, Inc., was incorporated in Minnesota that year. It was a specialist business long before personal computing, mobile devices and household technology became central to its later stores.

By 1981, Sound of Music had several outlets in the Twin Cities area. Its Roseville clearance promotion featured low prices and a “no frills” environment. Best Buy’s later historical timeline reports unusually strong sales from the event.

The Best Buy Name and a New Way to Sell Electronics

In 1983, the Sound of Music board approved the corporate name Best Buy Co., Inc., and a Best Buy-branded superstore opened in Burnsville, Minnesota. The broader consumer-electronics format marked a break from the original stereo-shop model. In a 2016 interview, Schulze recalled the Burnsville store’s first year: “The first year’s volume was $28 million”.

The chain took another defining step in 1989 by adopting a discount-oriented, noncommissioned and self-service store model. Rather than basing customer interactions on commissioned sales, the format gave shoppers more room to browse and compare products. The approach became part of Best Buy’s recognizable retail identity, alongside its yellow-tag branding.

The new model supported a wider technology assortment and a growing physical footprint. As purchasing shifted online, that network of stores would become the focus of another major change in how Best Buy served customers.

Online Shopping, Geek Squad and the Limits of Acquisitions

At the turn of the millennium, Best Buy established its online shopping site in fiscal 2000. The website added a way to research and order products alongside shopping in its physical stores.

Acquisitions broadened the business in several directions. Best Buy purchased Canada’s Future Shop in 2001, establishing an important Canadian retail presence while preserving a chain with its own history. In 2002, it acquired Geek Squad, a separately founded technology-support business. Geek Squad helped expand Best Buy’s role from selling equipment to assisting customers with setup, repairs and related services.

Not every expansion traveled as well. Best Buy also bought the entertainment retailer Musicland, seeking a business adjacent to its existing customers and merchandise. Best Buy subsequently reported that Musicland had not met the financial objectives set for the investment, and the parent disposed of its interest in fiscal 2004. The episode illustrated a recurring tension: customers might buy several kinds of products from one retailer, but that did not make every nearby retail category a successful operating fit.

Geographic expansion brought additional complexity. In China, Best Buy acquired a majority interest in the existing Five Star chain and also developed Best Buy-branded stores. The acquired retailer and the company’s own-brand initiative were distinct operations.

A European Venture Meets the Limits of the Big-Box Model

In 2008, Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse formed a European venture on a 50:50 ownership basis. The partnership paired Best Buy’s electronics-retail experience with Carphone Warehouse’s mobile-phone business. It was a joint venture, not a wholly owned Best Buy European chain.

The expansion encountered difficulties. In 2011, the partners announced the closure of 11 Best Buy-branded big-box stores in the United Kingdom, while their other mobile operations continued.

In June 2013, Best Buy Co., Inc. completed the sale of its 50% interest in Best Buy Europe to Carphone Warehouse. Its venture into U.K. big-box electronics retail had ended, while the broader business continued to evolve in North America.

Leadership Disruption and the Renew Blue Response

By 2012, electronics retail faced intense price transparency and growing online competition. Shoppers could inspect a product in a physical store and compare competing offers from elsewhere. That pressure coincided with major leadership changes at Best Buy.

Chief executive Brian Dunn departed in April 2012. The following month, Best Buy’s board reported findings from an independent inquiry into conduct-related matters and elected a new chairman. Founder Schulze resigned from the board in June while considering options for his ownership stake. The upheaval unfolded amid wider operating and competitive difficulties.

Hubert Joly became chief executive in September 2012 and led the operating program known as Renew Blue. His management team pursued cost reductions, more competitive pricing, improvements in online-to-store fulfillment and stronger relationships with product vendors. The response involved how the existing store network worked, not simply whether it should be retained.

Management later reported $1.4 billion in savings over five years. Reuters also reported better-than-expected profit in 2014 as costs fell. The figures accompanied a broader effort to improve pricing, fulfillment, store operations and supplier relationships rather than one isolated initiative.

The retail footprint also contracted in some markets. Best Buy Co., Inc. completed the sale of its Five Star operation in China in February 2015. A month later, Best Buy Canada closed 66 Future Shop stores and converted 65 others to the Best Buy banner, bringing its Canadian storefronts under one name.

Renew Blue gave the store network several functions beyond displaying merchandise: order pickup, purchasing support, advice and service. That broadened role helped connect Best Buy’s physical locations with its online business, while price competition and operating costs remained important.

Building the New Blue: Services and Care at Home

In 2017, Best Buy management followed Renew Blue with a growth plan called Building the New Blue. Its priorities included customer advice, connected-home technology and help delivered in customers’ homes. As Joly put it: “Our Renew Blue transformation was about improving the customer experience and fixing what was broken”.

Technology support was a familiar business through Geek Squad. Health-related services presented a different extension. In October 2018, Best Buy completed the acquisition of GreatCall, a business focused on connected services for older adults, reporting $792 million in net cash consideration at closing. The acquisition brought Best Buy further into an area where devices, remote support and personal assistance intersected.

Leadership changed again in June 2019. Corie Barry succeeded Joly as CEO after an announced transition, while Joly became executive chairman. The company entered the next period with established online and service activities, a substantial physical-store base and new health-service investments.

The Pandemic Changes What a Store Can Do

COVID-19 disrupted ordinary in-store shopping in March 2020. Best Buy shifted much of its U.S. operation to curbside-only pickup while continuing online order fulfillment. The change placed an existing combination of stores and digital ordering under exceptional pressure: buildings that normally welcomed shoppers were used to distribute orders without normal browsing.

In an April 15 update, CEO Corie Barry said: “We have retained approximately 70% of our sales”. Her estimate covered the initial curbside period relative to the previous year, not the full year.

The adaptation also came at a cost to employees. Best Buy announced furloughs affecting approximately 51,000 U.S. hourly store workers beginning April 19, underscoring the strain on its labor-intensive retail operation.

Meanwhile, Best Buy began another geographic withdrawal. In November 2020, the parent announced plans to exit Mexico, and its stores there had closed by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2022. The timing distinguishes the decision to leave from the later completion of store closures.

Health-Care Ambitions Narrow as a Marketplace Opens

Best Buy’s expansion into health services continued in November 2021 with the acquisition of Current Health Ltd., a remote-care monitoring company, for approximately $389 million in net cash consideration. Combined with the earlier GreatCall investment and Lively activities, the purchase represented a further attempt to apply technology and service capabilities beyond conventional electronics retailing.

The direction changed in 2025. Best Buy sold Current Health back to its cofounder Christopher McGhee in June, narrowing its involvement in hospital-at-home services. That disposal was not an exit from all health care: Lively and other Best Buy Health activities continued.

Best Buy’s fiscal 2026 annual report recorded a $118 million goodwill impairment in Best Buy Health. Management attributed its revised outlook in part to reimbursement and demand pressures. The charge followed a reassessment of the remaining health business rather than a complete withdrawal from that sector.

Elsewhere in North America, Best Buy Canada began opening Best Buy Express locations in 2024 in partnership with Bell Canada. Bell leases and operates those stores, so they are not counted as ordinary company-operated Best Buy stores in the parent’s reported footprint.

On August 19, 2025, Best Buy launched a U.S. third-party seller marketplace, expanding the assortment available through its online platform. Management also emphasized advertising, memberships and technology services as additional lines of business. Best Buy Canada already had a separate marketplace history.

Best Buy in 2026: Stores, Services and a Pending CEO Transition

As of October 11, 2026, Best Buy remained a publicly traded technology retailer with U.S. and Canadian stores, online sales, Geek Squad support and other services. At the end of fiscal 2026 on January 31, the company reported 1,068 stores: 926 in its Domestic segment and 142 in Canada, excluding Bell-operated Best Buy Express locations.

For the quarter ended August 1, 2026, Best Buy reported $9.779 billion in revenue and a 4.1% increase in comparable sales. Online revenue accounted for 33.1% of the U.S. segment’s quarterly sales, reflecting the continued importance of the digital channel alongside stores.

Another change was approaching at the top. In April 2026, Best Buy’s board named Jason Bonfig as Corie Barry’s successor. Barry remained CEO as of October 11, with Bonfig scheduled to take office on November 1, 2026.

From specialty audio retail to superstores, online fulfillment and technical services, Best Buy repeatedly changed how its stores and employees served customers. Musicland, overseas ventures and parts of its health portfolio also revealed the limits of expansion into adjacent businesses. Its history shows both the value of reworking an established retail model and the difficulty of extending that model into new markets.

Timeline

These milestones trace the most consequential changes in Best Buy’s corporate history, business model and geographic reach.

1966

Richard “Dick” Schulze and a partner open Sound of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. Sound of Music, Inc., the predecessor of Best Buy Co., Inc., is incorporated.

1981

Following a tornado at its Roseville store, Sound of Music holds the “Tornado Sale.”

1983

The company adopts the Best Buy Co., Inc. name and opens a Best Buy superstore in Burnsville, Minnesota.

1989

Best Buy introduces its noncommissioned, self-service discount retail format.

Fiscal 2000

Best Buy establishes online shopping as part of its retail operation.

2001–2002

Best Buy acquires Canada’s Future Shop in 2001 and the separately founded Geek Squad technology-support business in 2002.

Fiscal 2004

Best Buy disposes of Musicland after reporting that it did not meet its financial goals.

2008

Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse establish a 50:50 European joint venture.

2011

The European venture’s partners announce closure of 11 Best Buy-branded U.K. big-box stores.

2012

Brian Dunn leaves the CEO role; the board reports investigation findings, and Dick Schulze leaves the board. Hubert Joly becomes CEO in September and leads Renew Blue.

2013

Best Buy Co., Inc. completes the sale of its 50% interest in Best Buy Europe to Carphone Warehouse.

2015

Best Buy completes the sale of its Five Star China operations. Separately, Best Buy Canada closes 66 Future Shop stores and converts 65 to the Best Buy name.

2017–2018

Best Buy management presents Building the New Blue in 2017. Best Buy acquires GreatCall in October 2018.

June 2019

Corie Barry becomes Best Buy’s CEO, succeeding Hubert Joly.

March–April 2020

Best Buy shifts major store operations to curbside pickup and announces temporary furloughs of approximately 51,000 U.S. hourly store workers.

2020–2021

Best Buy announces a Mexico exit in late 2020; its Mexican stores close by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2022.

November 2021

Best Buy acquires Current Health Ltd., extending its remote-care technology activities.

2024

Best Buy Canada and Bell Canada begin opening Bell-operated Best Buy Express stores.

2025

Best Buy divests Current Health in June and launches its U.S. third-party Best Buy Marketplace in August.

April 2026

Best Buy announces that Jason Bonfig will succeed Corie Barry as CEO, with the appointment scheduled to take effect November 1, 2026.

FAQs

Question: Was Best Buy founded in 1966 or 1983?

Answer: Best Buy’s corporate predecessor began in 1966 as Sound of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. The company adopted the Best Buy name and opened a Best Buy superstore in 1983. The dates refer to different stages of the same corporate lineage.

Question: Did Best Buy create Geek Squad?

Answer: No. Geek Squad was a separately founded service business that Best Buy acquired in 2002. It became an important part of the retailer’s technology setup, repair and support activities.

Question: What happened to Future Shop in Canada?

Answer: Best Buy acquired Future Shop in 2001. In 2015, Best Buy Canada closed 66 Future Shop stores and converted another 65 to the Best Buy banner, ending the separate Future Shop storefront identity.

Question: Did Best Buy leave health care when it sold Current Health?

Answer: No. The 2025 sale of Current Health reduced Best Buy’s exposure to hospital-at-home services, but Lively and other health-related activities remained part of the business.

Question: Who is Best Buy’s CEO in October 2026?

Answer: Corie Barry is CEO as of October 11, 2026. Best Buy announced in April that Jason Bonfig would succeed her, with the change scheduled for November 1, 2026.

Question: Does Best Buy operate the Best Buy Express stores in Canada?

Answer: The Best Buy Express partnership involves Best Buy Canada and Bell Canada, but Bell leases and operates the Express locations. Best Buy’s fiscal 2026 corporate store count excludes them.

Interviews & Firsthand Resources

Best Buy at 50: A Q&A with Dick Schulze and Hubert Joly

This 2016 anniversary conversation brings together Best Buy’s founder and its then-chief executive. Schulze discusses the early superstore period, including his recollection of the Burnsville store’s sales, while Joly describes the retailer’s changing service role. The account is a firsthand company-hosted retrospective.

Read the founder and CEO Q&A

Building the New Blue: 2017 Investor Day Statement

This executive statement explains the priorities Best Buy management outlined after Renew Blue, including customer advice, in-home technology assistance and services. It helps connect the turnaround period with the company’s later growth initiatives. The targets described at the time were management’s plans, not guaranteed results.

Read the investor-day statement

Sources

• Best Buy Co., Inc. — SEC filings: Fiscal 2005 Form 10-K, Renew Blue program statement (2013), Europe joint-venture stake sale (2013), Five Star disposal completion (2015), Corie Barry leadership transition (2019), Fiscal 2022 Current Health acquisition disclosure, Mexico closure disclosure (2021), Fiscal 2026 Form 10-K, Quarter ended August 1, 2026 Form 10-Q, 2026 CEO-succession Form 8-K.
• Best Buy — History and management: Learning from Challenge & Change historical timeline, Dick Schulze and Hubert Joly Q&A (2016), Building the New Blue investor day (2017), GreatCall acquisition update (2018), U.S. Best Buy Marketplace launch (2025).
• Best Buy — Leadership and operating releases: 2012 CEO transition, 2012 board investigation disclosure, Schulze board resignation (2012), COVID-19 operating update (2020), Mexico exit announcement (2020), Second quarter fiscal 2027 results, CEO succession announcement (2026).
• Best Buy Canada: Future Shop consolidation (2015), First Best Buy Express opening (2024).
• Reuters: Best Buy profit beats estimates as costs fall (2014).
• WIRED: Best Buy Bucks the Trend That’s Crushing Other Retailers (2019).
• Associated Press (via Los Angeles Times and Phys.org): Best Buy launches European venture (2008), U.K. Best Buy store closures (2011).
• Healthcare Dive: Best Buy divests Current Health (2025).
• Becker’s Hospital Review: Best Buy’s hospital-at-home withdrawal (2025).