Best Buy 2001 Annual Report Download - page 14

Best Buy Co., Inc.
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significant percentage of customers making in-store
purchases visited BestBuy.com prior to their purchases,
and it favorably influenced their purchases as well as
enhanced their in-store shopping experience.
O ur integrated approach allows us to take advantage of
cost efficiencies. BestBuy.com leverages, among other
things, our significant advertising spending, distribution
and logistics infrastructure, vendor relationships, buying
power and retail store operations. W hile many Internet-
based business models have struggled to overcome heavy
infrastructure investments, low product margins and
inefficient distribution and service, we believe that our
“clicks and mortar” approach will be both an economically
viable model for Internet retailing and the service of
choice for consumers. W e expect the Internet, as an
integrated channel, to be an important component of all
of our retail businesses, including the brands we recently
added from Musicland and M agnolia Hi-Fi, as well as
our Canadian stores.
The Internet not only is a platform for learning about and
purchasing physical products, but it also represents a
medium for actually obtaining goods in digital form. As
consumer models emerge for the purchase of music, movies
and games in digital form, as the bandwidth of consumer
Internet access increases, and as technology begins to
enable content distribution and the management of
associated rights and royalties, we expect our consumers
to embrace digital distribution. Best Buy intends to be a
leader in assisting customers in understanding and using
these new digital entertainment services.
Best Buy Stores
We improve customers’ time by making it more
productive and more fun.