Wide Dragnet Catches Best Buy (BBY, AAPL, RSH, JCP, AMZN)

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) has two things working against it today, or at least two things that were not among the myriad of issues impacting it before the last half-day or so.  Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has hired a new retail CEO and RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH), often thought of as the smaller Best Buy, has completely stunk up the joint on earnings expectations.

Browett has some very large shoes to fill.  All of the J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP) interest of late has been due to new CEO Ron Johnson who was credited with being the retail brains behind the Apple store layout.  Another issue today is that Best Buy will have to square off against rival earnings from Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Apple hired away Dixons’ Chief Executive Officer John Browett as a turnaround manager for the British electronics retailer in an effort to drive more Apple sales.  Is it possible that Apple will decide that it wants all of its products sold directly online and/or at the Apple stores?  That seems a stretch, but who knows.

Radioshack may be the real concern outside of the ongoing expected pressure from Amazon.  If you just looked at revenues the story seemed not so bad.  Those pesky margin pressures were atrocious.  If more of the same occurs at Best Buy, then a bad situation is going to go from bad to far worse.

JON C. OGG