BestBuy is sinking

At work, we used to arrange death pools for celebrities. Britney Spears would always get our hopes up with her close calls to the hospital. And in spite of her wild drug binges, our bets on Amy Winehouse never seemed to pay off. But we're happy that these girls seem to have cleaned up their act, for now. If you're searching for a company to put in your death pool, look no further than BestBuy. We found Fortune's list of '100 Best Companies to Work For' and notice that they don't make the cut. Even horrid places like Men's Wearhouse (who sell crap suits) and Container Store (who sell a bunch of overpriced boxes) beat BestBuy. That's pretty bad, and we're not even surprised given the level of incompetence we see at BestBuy these days; their employees are clearly disgruntled. BestBuy could learn a thing or two from their Minnesotan brethren at Target. A question we have for their employees: what's up with the Geek Squad? Are you serious? How do you fucking live with yourselves? Not saying that Apple's Genius Bar is any better, but still... And whatever became of Circuit City? That whale turd of a company unraveled like a ball of yarn during the credit crisis because manufacturers (think Sony & Samsung) stopped sending them inventory! While BestBuy ultimately benefited from Circuit City's demise, we believe BestBuy is super overrated and their years potentially numbered. For those who trade stocks, this might be a great one to short as their business model is structurally outdated. The stock peaked in early 2006 - a full two years ahead of the credit crisis. Something fishy's going on!

Welcome Alternative: We don't like to be gravedancers but remember Tower Records? They're not around anymore, and Virgin Records is also up shit creek without a paddle. These are both businesses that failed to prepare for a paradigm shift in technology and consumption trends. Today you can buy a calculator, camera, voice recorder, MP3 player, GPS, pager and cell-phone all in one smart-phone device. People don't even buy camcorders these days. How about CDs and DVDs? Those are on their way out. What's BestBuy going to do with all of their shelf space in the decade ahead? The next generation of TVs could be holographic - then what? We think manufacturers will learn from Apple and start bringing their hit products in-house, just like Apple did with their 295 stores. All of BestBuy's parking lot space and real estate is a waste; a whole army of Gen-X, Y & Z consumers are conditioned to shopping online today. Bottom-line: BestBuy is a big box with lots of property/staff overhead, and very little value-add. Worst of all, their employees are real knuckleheads. Shareholders, caveat emptor. The miniaturization of consumer electronics will ultimately do this company in. BestBuy isn't a ticking time-bomb that's going bankrupt anytime soon, but we see a slow bleeding death in play. Achtung, Baby!

Footnote: If you think of any other overrated companies, give us a shout!