March 2012 Archives

Best Buy to cut 400 jobs and close 50 stores
By Kyle Stowe

To cope with declining store sales, Best Buy will cut 400 jobs and 50 stores nationwide in an attempt to boost profits. The cuts will save the company over $800 million over the next 3 years.

The cost savings will help Best Buy improve customer experiences and competitive prices, according to Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn. Dunn believes these improvements will help drive revenue in the long-term.

CEO Brian Dunn said that Best Buy needs to find ways to maintain its profit margins as they shift their focus to fighting online competitors like Amazon for market share.

In an attempt to increase profit, Best Buy also plans to increase the number of Best Buy Mobile stores in the U.S. from 600 to 800 by 2016. In addition, the company also continue to expand in China.

Hamburger with "pink slime" gone at Cub Foods
By Kyle Stowe

Supervalu Foods, which supplies Cub Foods and other supermarket chains with many different types of groceries, recently pledged to remove what is known as "beef filler" from the hamburger they distribute to different grocery outlets. The decision was made based purely on customer concerns, according to Supervalu spokesman Mike Siemienas.

The beef filler, also know as "pink slime" has historically been inserted into hamburger to kill pathogens. The filler makes it possible so that tissue in the hamburger that might otherwise go wasted can be turned into grist for hamburger.

The filler is not being removed because of a safety issue. Companies like Supervalu have been putting it in their hamburger meat for the last 20 years, according to food companies. It's purely an "ick" factor that has detracted consumers and caused food distributors like Supervalu to remove the filler from their hamburger, according to food experts.