Our first morning in New York was spent with the management and marketing teams at Google, led by David Kaul, Retail Industry Development Manager – what a way to start! The group found the tour of Google’s offices intriguing given the company’s innovative and productive culture, but very relaxed and a flexible working environment. The main engineering floor was littered with café stations, scooters, massage and nap rooms, Lego rooms, whilst mapping out the key areas of New York City – Wall Street, Madison Square Garden, Times Square, etc. The team at Google then took us through some insightful case studies of how search marketing can be of great benefit to retailers through increasing online sales/orders and driving traffic to retail stores. If we were not already aware, the visit clearly demonstrated that the Internet is now a very real and important part of the media mix and consumers’ lives today.
After Google, the group raced by foot to the largest Best Buy on 5th Avenue to be met by a number of senior and store managers of the business. After a brief introduction, we split into smaller groups and toured the two-story, partially underground store and learned about its many departments, unique selling approaches and customer focus. Most interesting was Best Buy’s Geek squad and Magnolia Home Theatre operations. The Geek Squad has become a key differentiator for Best Buy compared to other electronics retailers in the US. The Geek Squad is actually a company subsidiary and was first introduced to stores in 1994 to offer specialised computer-related services and accessories for residential and commercial customers. The Geek Squad provides services in-store, on-site, and over the Internet via remote access, and also provides 24-hour telephone and emergency on-site support. The Geek Squad "precinct" within the store consisted of full-time "Agents" who specialise in PC repair, troubleshooting, data rescue, in-home PC setup, and wireless networking. We also learnt that the Magnolia Home Theatre area of the store was initiated to reflect “the new era of electronic entertainment” for Best Buy by displaying home audio and video solutions in a homely setting. The store was incredibly busy and hectic and despite hosting 27 ACRS studies tour members, the group were able to pick up a few electrical items ourselves!
We only had one afternoon free in New York, which was unfortunate considering that there was so much to see and do in the city that never sleeps! The group decided to go separate ways so that each person could see as much as possible. In terms of city sights, there was the Rockefeller Centre, Times Square, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, Soho, Park Ave, The Village, China Town and much, much more. Even after just one afternoon, it is easy to understand why so many people choose to visit and live in New York; it is exactly as you see it in the movies with tall skyscrapers and bright lights everywhere!
