Best Buy Introduces Blue Label™: New Process for Developing Products Inspired by Listening to Customers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) today introduced its Blue Label series, a line of consumer electronic products developed directly from customer feedback and delivering uncompromised performance. The Blue Label series is a result of collaboration between Best Buy and technology companies in which Best Buy gathers insights from customers and works with manufacturers to design products that address those needs.

“We continually look for ways to personalize our PCs, not only from a technology standpoint but in the product’s style and design as well”

The first products to come out of the Blue Label process are laptops, one each from HP and Toshiba. Best Buy talked to its customers about their “ideal laptop” and learned that consumers wished for longer battery life, a thin and lightweight design, an illuminated keyboard, more optimal screen size and superior warranty support.

In response, Best Buy worked with HP and Toshiba to create exclusive laptops that are less than 1.5 inches thick, weigh less than 5 pounds, feature an exclusive exterior design, a backlit keyboard and come with a two-year warranty at no extra charge. In addition, the laptops feature 30 days of support from Geek Squad®, Best Buy’s team of Agents and Installers who assist with set-up and troubleshooting of Best Buy-purchased products.

“As the leading consumer electronics retailer, Best Buy has millions of interactions with consumers each year. We listened to our customers and learned that they wanted more from the feature set on available laptops so we went directly to manufacturers to fix that,” said Wendy Fritz, senior vice president of computing, Best Buy. “Through the Blue Label process, we’re addressing customer needs in a way that no retailer has done before and we’re giving manufacturers valuable insight to make products for our customers.”

The HP and Toshiba laptops will be available exclusively through Best Buy retail stores nationwide beginning October 5; preorders will be available on BestBuy.com beginning September 28. More information about the process behind Blue Label can be found at www.bestbuy.com/bluelabel.

Best Buy’s Blue Shirts, Geek Squad agents, dedicated focus groups, in-store interactions and intense customer research keep the company on the front lines of communication with its customers. Best Buy’s introduction of the Blue Label series takes advantage of this unique insight to address the needs and wants of consumers by interceding with the manufacturers on their behalf. Working with HP and Toshiba has enabled Best Buy to offer laptops that include desired features at affordable price points.

HP Pavilion dv3510nr Notebook PC

Offering a unique combination of features in a stylish PC weighing less than 5 pounds⁽¹⁾, the HP Pavilion dv3510nr Entertainment Laptop offers truly mobile computing. Its 13.3” diagonal HD⁽²⁾ widescreen display and backlit keyboard allows users to easily manipulate and view all their on-screen activities, from fun to functional. An extended-life Li-ion battery, wide range of connectivity options and integrated webcam and microphone make it possible for users to stay connected to friends and family for hours at time, even while on the go.⁽³⁾

--		HP Pavilion dv3510nr Entertainment Laptop
		--		Retail price of $1199
		--		Backlit keyboard for viewing in low light
		--		Up to 4 hours of battery life from a single charge(4)
		--		Less than 1.41" thin
		--		4.6 lbs(4)
		--		13.3" Diagonal WXGA High-Definition(2) HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display

“We continually look for ways to personalize our PCs, not only from a technology standpoint but in the product’s style and design as well,” said Bruce Greenwood, vice president, North America Consumer Channel Sales Development and Notebook Product Marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP. “We have a long relationship with Best Buy and see pairing their customer feedback and our dedication to research and development as an excellent way to meet notebook users’ needs and wants.”

Toshiba Satellite Notebook

The Toshiba Satellite E105-S1402 laptop is designed to give users ultimate flexibility in use. Packing everything a computer user would need into a thin and light stylish body, it offers high-powered processing, longer battery life, extensive connectivity options and a backlit keyboard for the ability to see the keyboard in poor lighting conditions, such as on an airplane or in the family room during movie night. And in addition to CD- and DVD-burning capabilities, the PC offers Labelflash™, an innovative unique disc-labeling technology to give users additional options for personalizing their creations.

--		Toshiba Satellite E105-S1402
		--		Retail price of $1199
		--		Keyboard that is viewable in low light
		--		5.5 hours of battery life from a single charge
		--		1.2" thin
		--		4.99 lbs
		--		14.1" diagonal widescreen TruBrite(R) TFT LCD display at 1280x800 native resolution (WXGA)

“Customer feedback is vital to our continuing commitment to a superior computing experience, combining the entertainment, performance and portability that consumers value most,” said Jeff Barney, vice president and general manager, Digital Products Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. “Utilizing Best Buy’s position as a trusted retailer, we were able to pinpoint consumers’ specific desires and develop a unique product to best suit their needs.”

All Best Buy stores will offer these laptops in retail areas that allow customers to have a rich hands-on trial opportunity as part of Best Buy’s commitment to providing a unique shopping experience. Blue Shirt representatives will be on-hand in these areas to field questions about the notebooks, to assist customers identifying products that will best meet his or her needs and continue gathering feedback on desirable product features.

Best Buy plans to expand the Blue Label series to other product lines, continually incorporating customer feedback into the product development process. Every product under the Blue Label designation will be created from consumer input and will address the top identified consumer needs.

A key feature of Best Buy’s Blue Label series is Best Buy staff. In addition to the intensive training all employees receive on PC technology and user interactions, Best Buy’s Blue Label series is built on heightened employee-consumer interactions to garner valuable feedback and describe the unique features that set Best Buy’s Blue Label products apart from other offerings.

About Best Buy Co., Inc.

With operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China, Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. The Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than $40 billion annual revenue and includes brands such as Best Buy, Audiovisions, The Carphone Warehouse, Future Shop, Geek Squad, Jiangsu Five Star, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales Kitchen and Bath Centers, The Phone House and Speakeasy. Approximately 165,000 employees apply their talents to help bring the benefits of these brands to life for customers through retail locations, multiple call centers and Web sites, in-home solutions, product delivery and activities in our communities. Community partnership is central to the way we do business at Best Buy. In fiscal 2008, we donated a combined $31.8 million to improve the vitality of the communities where our employees and customers live and work. For more information about Best Buy, visit www.bestbuy.com.

Notes

(1) Weight will vary by configuration

(2) HD content required to view HD images

(3) Internet access required and not included

(4) Battery life will vary depending on the product: model, configuration, loaded applications, features, and power management settings. The maximum capacity of the battery will decrease with time and usage, Internet access required and not included.