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?
âThatâs your company,â business professor Caroline DâAbate â93 told this springâs teams and coaches in the MB 107 course. âTake a look at that stock value,â she said, pointing to a down-sloping line. âYikes!â Then she asked, âAnyone want to guess what company that is?â
Turns out itâs Best Buy, the worldâs 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 isnât sitting still. Maybe you saw its Super Bowl ad, starring actress Amy Poehler as a retail employeeâs nightmare. Or heard that the company will match online prices beginning in March.
âYour job,â she informed the 120 students, âis to add 10% to Best Buyâs operating profits by year-end 2016. Coordinator of the introductory, case-study-based business course, now in its 31st year, DâAbate said, âWeâll have a dry run in mid-March. Then on April 26 at the Courtyard Marriott, youâll be presenting your business plans to executives.â
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. Itâs intimidating and invigorating, and itâs a great introduction to the business world. âThe relevance of this experience for our students is huge,â says DâAbate. âWhether from current students or alumni, I often get the same response: âIâm so glad I took that course.ââ
Watch this video for an in-depth look at MB 107.
DâAbateâs faculty colleague Catherine Hamilton recommended that students use the âstrategy diamondâ of markets, customers, and geography. âBased on these three variables,â she said, âhow do you differentiate a Sony TV at Best Buy from one on Amazon or at Walmart? Thatâs your challenge, and itâs a big one. Best Buy reminds me of Borders, and as you know itâs not in town anymore.â
âWhatâs the fundamental goal of every business and organization?â asked professor Mark Youndt. âTo create value in the market placeâthe 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.â
Rebecca McCourt â14, one of the two student coordinators, along with Tyler Orfao â13, had some more basic advice. âPut in the hard work now so you can get the most out of your dry run,â said the business major and computer science minor. âItâs 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, youâll just have some minor tweaks, and youâll have a great presentation.â
