Retail management: Best Buy and niches

Over at the Just Looking blog, Mark Askey comments on Best Buy's attempt to open new niches with boutique stores.

I wonder if the Magnolia HiFi stores they purchased a few years ago will be part of this test. Mag HIFI was a Northwest Audio Video dealer who catered to the higher end customer. Best Buy purchased them a few years ago and promptly killed their reputation. Customer service went down the drain and now it seems the commission structure is gone, so you have a bunch of people standing around with little interest in closing the sale.

It's not enough to have a niche. You've got to pay attention to the basics of good retailing.