I don't see, how in any way, this is good for consumers or the CE industry as a whole.
Best Buy may not be the favorite shopping place for those of us in the know, but for those who are just looking for a surround system to get started with, they may end getting relegated to Wal-Mart and Target instead. Hopefully we all know the type of true junk sold at those locations. So, instead of a mid-level LED/LCD Samsung, they will end up with a Funai display, or something worse because that is all they are able to look at.
Now, certainly, each Best Buy store has some good people and some bad people in it. Any chain, or even a store, with that many employees will have issues. Smaller places may do just fine when they know all of their employees very well, and fire, without regard, those who don't live up to certain standards. But, a store the size of a BB doesn't really have that ability. Not an excuse, just reality.
I've always liked Best Buy and I liked Circuit City, because, in our area, they had a lot of showcase. The Magnolia section offers some higher end stuff which is great to see, and they continue to bring in new stock. No matter how much you read online reports of different products, there is something far more appealing to getting in and lifting up a receiver to see how well it is built, how sturdy it is, how it has stood up to 10,000 people coming in and doing the exact same thing.
I won't cheer the downfall of Best Buy, and it certainly does NOT give way to a new generation of mom & pop retailers coming back into business.
I think the downfall of Blockbuster has shown us that once the Internet and automation has safely eliminated 100,000 jobs (Redbox/Netflix), then consumers are not interested in going back into a store. There is a huge pardigm shift right now from the B&M stores to online. People are getting far more comfortable with more and more of their purchases going through the PC.
Unfortunately, we are likely to lose Best Buy, and probably HH Gregg will follow. Then, if you want a product the ONLY way to purchase will be through online. Don't expect expert installation, or any support. Don't expect a place you can easily return it to if it breaks, or even if you just don't like it. Those are 'extras' and have 'cost' - and the average consumer clearly doesn't find that of any value.
I don't smile when I read stories like this and I truly wish BB the best of luck in getting through this and remaining strong for years to come.
As a small, custom A/V installer, I welcome Best Buy as a competitor and as a store to provide lower end solutions so that people can come to me later after they have been introduced to A/V.