Best Buy opens first UK store in Thurrock, we go hands-on

[BlueCali]

Misc. Gadgets
Best Buy opens first UK store in Thurrock, we go hands-on (video)
By Richard Lai posted May 1st 2010 5:30AM
Featured Video
Ah, there it is, UK's first-ever Best Buy store, officially born at 7am local time yesterday. Naturally, we had to be there to witness such magical moment for Britain's consumer tech market -- the Brits had longed for an injection of energy and professionalism to the seemingly slacking chain stores. Many would agree that DSGi's two main brands -- Currys and PC World -- are on the naughty list, even after their recent relaunch. From what we saw today, it looks like Best Buy's already heading in the right direction. Let's start with the front-line employees. Most of these Blueshirts provided genuine technical answers rather than bluffing their way out, plus we were given product recommendations with no desperate sales pitch as commonly seen in other stores. When we revealed our identity to one of the sales reps, he confirmed that they were trained to not force random products onto customers -- quite the opposite culture to his old days at DSGi (assuming he was telling the truth). We sure did appreciate this new-found shopping freedom in gadget stores, but did the other customers feel the same way? Find out what we heard after the break.


In between grilling Best Buy sales reps, we interviewed random customers for thoughts on the newcomer. Like us, they also noticed Best Buy's non-invasive but professional and helpful approach to wandering customers, although some reported seeing mixed performance amongst the temporary large staff. We, too, came across an annoying phone rep who didn't even know there were two mains types of touchscreens, but we suspect she was sent in by sister company Carphone Warehouse. Regardless, time will tell if the US electronics giant has trained up everyone well. As for the 50,000-square-foot megastore, there's little to fault on the spacious and well-lit layout, plus the green tech zone -- housing several electric bicycles and even a Tesla Roadster -- deserves massive props, too.


So that's Best Buy sorted for the meantime, but what about the local bad boy DSGi? Turned out there was a Currys megastore just a few hundred meters away from Best Buy's Thurrock store, so we popped by for a quick visit. Unsurprisingly, the store was much quieter in comparison. We even overheard one of the managers slagging off Best Buy's seemingly apathetic business approach, but then quickly instructed her staff to be less pushy to customers than usual. Never too late to start learning, eh?

 

[Nerdkiller]

I really hope they do this sort of thing here. I mean, we have an absence of eletronic stores in my town (only 1 that I can find) and the nearest big store is about 30 miles away.

 

[Horhay]

I really hope they do this sort of thing here. I mean, we have an absence of eletronic stores in my town (only 1 that I can find) and the nearest big store is about 30 miles away.

30 Miles! damn

 

[BigRick]

This store broke records in its first weekend in the UK

As it turns out, last weekend wasn't just momentous for the fact it put Thurrock on the map (any map!). Best Buy got in touch with us today to tell us its first UK store has racked up the highest number of opening weekend sales in the company's history. During our own visit to the store, we saw thousands flooding in and out, no doubt attracted by the novelty and deep discounts on offer from Best Buy. Notably, while this is a record in terms of volume, no such claims are mentioned relative to revenue or profit, suggesting the company was shooting to attract as many customers as possible, in hopes of recouping any opening day losses in repeat custom down the line. Given the feedback from one shopper, who came in for an Avatar Blu-ray disc and left with a pair of Wii consoles and a hard drive, that might not be such a bad strategy