
Corie Barry has worked at Best Buy for 25 years, the last five-plus as its CEO. As you can imagine, she has witnessed a lot of change during that time, both within the organization as well as the larger retail industry. During the National Retail Federation's (NRF) Big Show in New York City last week, Barry reflected on her career at Best Buy, including sharing thoughts on the what retailer stands for, how that impacts its operations, what its future looks like, her leadership style, and more. Here are some of the highlights from Barry's conversation with NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.
Looking Back at Her Tenure
"One of our core values is learning from challenge and change," Barry said. Best Buy has embraced this idea, with Barry noting that the retailer (and others along with it) faced the ultimate change in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of COVID, Best Buy made several changes to its business, including investments in its app to make it a "stickier experience," Barry noted. Furthermore, the retailer invested in its digital infrastructure to support its brick-and-mortar business.
Barry cited additional examples of change that Best Buy has undertaken in recent years, including adopting a market-based workforce where store employees are assigned to multiple stores and not tethered to a single location; launching an online marketplace; and making retail media a much bigger piece of the business.
"The team gets all of the credit for moving through all of that change," Barry told the audience.
A Focus on the Customer
"The experience has to be flawless — regardless of the level of need," Barry responded when asked by Shay about the customer experience Best Buy is striving for. Barry gave the example of a customer picking up a power cord in-store vs. a customer redoing their backyard audio system. The latter is a more complex touchpoint, but the experience for both consumers needs to be seamless.
What's driving this is a consumer that is shopping differently and has higher expectations, noted Barry. Consumers are less brand loyal and the complexity for Best Buy is that it's serving humans based on their need on that day.
"Simultaneous change is the new norm," said Barry. "Adaptability over perfection. The team needs to strive for adaptability in service of a customer that is also changing. "[We are] maniacally dedicated to providing the very best solution and service to the customer."
Employee needs and expectations have also changed, according to Barry. They value adaptability (e.g., scheduling) over everything else.
"The gig economy has changed the way employees think about their own careers," Barry said. "We’re competing for talent against all industries, not just retail competitors."
A Brand Relaunch
Shay asked Barry what the Best Buy brand stands for today. Her answer provided some interesting insights into the brand relaunch that Barry has helped to oversee, including three factors that necessitated it.
"Retail has stripped some of the joy out of shopping," Barry said. "Two, tech had lost some of its sparkle. And three, consumers don’t need always need us to be the tech experts. Then what do we really stand for? Two questions: 'What if? And why not?'"
Best Buy's answer is to focus on the power of imagination and innovation.
"We need our people to take what they know and translate it to the customer," said Barry. “'I had no idea I could do that.' Innovation that resonates with customers that only our blue shirts can bring to life. We used to talk about 'tech and specs, speeds and feeds.' Now it’s about learning what our customer wants and then helping them do more than what they thought."
Furthermore, Barry noted that it's vital that Best Buy is very clear about what it is there to do. "Product and experience is critical — technology to enrich the lives of our customers," she said. "That’s unique to what we do. We can’t copy someone else; it needs to be individualized to Best Buy."
3 Leadership Lessons
Shay and Barry wrapped up their discussion by touching on the subject of leadership. She offered three leadership lessons to the audience:
- You don’t always have to have the answers. A leader's job is to unleash the conditions that create an environment where others can do amazing work aligned with your brand's vision. Ask for help.
- Embrace paradox. For leaders, it’s not digital vs. stores. People vs. profits. Short vs. long term. People crave normalcy and stability; embrace the paradox of the world we live in.
- Think about how you want the organization to be better in the time you spent there. Barry said she wants a legacy that "this team created a culture that is so adaptable that we can thrive in any situation."
According to Barry, the question for all leaders is as follows: How do I not just say the words, but live it through my actions?
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- People:
- Corie Barry
- Matthew Shay
