Best Buy Set for a Few Turbulent Quarters but Underlying Business Remains Quite Strong

We believe Best Buy is taking adequate steps to shore up its competitive position in an intensely competitive consumer electronics space. As the industry emerges from the shadow of the coronavirus, it has become clear that how people shop has permanently changed—with customers demanding seamless omnichannel access to favorite brands, quick fulfillment, and tech solutions to more problems than ever before. As a result, Best Buy's strategic positioning continues to resonate, with the firm leveraging its store footprint for fulfillment and post-sale services, emphasizing its differentiated service offering, and experimenting with newer store formats, as the "one size fits all" retail model across trade areas appears antiquated. The firm's digital sales volume more than doubled during the pandemic, and with 31% of sales derived from that channel through three quarters of calendar 2022 we expect the shift to stick, even as some spending returns to on-premises occasions.