Best Buy announces it will open corners in 10 Macy's location starting this holliday season for a testing period ending at the end of 2016.
The goal is supposed for Macy's to boost its electronics category which has been going in limbo, and for Best Buy, to benefit from the large foot visit of Macy's in order to find new real estate space with added value.
The move seems obvious, and the benefits for both companies evident. Nevertheless, I am not really convinced about how well the test will go. Especially as Carrefour has already made some tests of a partnership with Virgin to manage its cultural goods category, with very few success. Obviously, the cultural good category was undergoing major changes with the digitalization which has already started, and Virgin was about to shut down in France in the new few years.
But the interesting question is: Can a retailer have a corner? Does Best Buy's brand and added value could be strong enough to be successful at Macy's? Does Best Buy's category management expertise is strong enough to create more value than Macy's skills?
