Real-world strategy
Still tops in its niche, Best Buy is struggling to stay ahead of discount and online rivals. Who better to come up with creative business solutions than Skidmore students?
Can Skidmore save Best Buy?
āThatās your company,ā business professor Caroline DāAbate ā93 told this springās teams and coaches in the MB 107 course. āTake a look at that stock value,ā she said, pointing to a down-sloping line. āYikes!ā Then she asked, āAnyone want to guess what company that is?ā
Turns out itās Best Buy, the worldās largest consumer electronics chain, which had better-than-expected holiday-season sales but still faces an uphill battle to fend off discount and online rivals. Certainly, Best Buy isnāt sitting still. Maybe you saw its Super Bowl ad, starring actress Amy Poehler as a retail employeeās nightmare. Or heard that the company will match online prices beginning in March.
āYour job,ā she informed the 120 students, āis to add 10% to Best Buyās operating profits by year-end 2016. Coordinator of the introductory, case-study-based business course, now in its 31st year, DāAbate said, āWeāll have a dry run in mid-March. Then on April 26 at the Courtyard Marriott, youāll be presenting your business plans to executives.ā
At these presentations, the mostly first-year students get immediate feedback, including a grade, from real-life business execs like Christopher Graves, global CEO of Ogilvy PR; Deborah Monosson, president and CEO of Boston Financial & Equity; and David Marks, chief investment officer of Cuna Mutual Group. Itās intimidating and invigorating, and itās a great introduction to the business world. āThe relevance of this experience for our students is huge,ā says DāAbate. āWhether from current students or alumni, I often get the same response: āIām so glad I took that course.āā
Watch this video for an in-depth look at MB 107.
DāAbateās faculty colleague Catherine Hamilton recommended that students use the āstrategy diamondā of markets, customers, and geography. āBased on these three variables,ā she said, āhow do you differentiate a Sony TV at Best Buy from one on Amazon or at Walmart? Thatās your challenge, and itās a big one. Best Buy reminds me of Borders, and as you know itās not in town anymore.ā
āWhatās the fundamental goal of every business and organization?ā asked professor Mark Youndt. āTo create value in the market placeāthe difference between willingness to pay and cost. One way or another, your team has to figure out how to increase the willingness to pay or create value.ā
Rebecca McCourt ā14, one of the two student coordinators, along with Tyler Orfao ā13, had some more basic advice. āPut in the hard work now so you can get the most out of your dry run,ā said the business major and computer science minor. āItās easy to put off the work because the executive presentations seem so far away. But if you treat the dry run as the real thing, youāll just have some minor tweaks, and youāll have a great presentation.ā
