Consumer Electronics & Appliances Stores

Consumer Electronics & Appliances Stores

Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter:

Companies in this industry sell household appliances, cameras, computers, and other electronic goods. Major companies include Best Buy, Conn's, Fry's Electronics, GameStop, and the retail operations of Apple (all based in the US), as well as Dixons Carphone (UK), Fnac Darty (France), GOME (China, the CECONOMY-owned MediaMarkt and Saturn (Germany), and Yamada Denki (Japan).

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

The competitive landscape for US consumer electronics (CE) retailers has changed dramatically over the past decade amid rapidly evolving technology and the growth of e-commerce. Of the 2006 Top 100 CE retailers, some 20% are no longer in business, including Circuit City, which ranked third at the time. Others, including market leader Best Buy, have struggled. Video game seller GameStop is closing stores and has put itself up for sale after a shift to digital downloads and streaming led to a steep decline in store sales. While Best Buy remains the nation’s top consumer electronics retailer, online giant Amazon (ranked No. 18 in 2006) is a close second, with more than $35 billion in CE sales, according to the latest annual rankings from TWICE. Rounding out the top five are Walmart, Apple, and Costco. Competition from alternative retail channels has contributed to the 7% decline in sales for electronics and appliances stores since 2008.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major product segments include computers and peripherals (about 25% of industry revenue); telephones (15%); major household appliances (15%); and TVs (10%). Other products include video...