????過去幾年，無數(shù)科技零售商最終都痛苦的呻吟著走向了終結(jié)。環(huán)城百貨（Circuit City）和美國電腦（CompUSA）等公司一度曾經(jīng)是消費者購買最新科技產(chǎn)品的首選。就連Babbages也頗受歡迎。而現(xiàn)在，這些公司都成為了歷史。雖然環(huán)城百貨和美國電腦品牌均被電子產(chǎn)品零售商Systemax公司收購，卻早已物是人非，再也無法重現(xiàn)往日的輝煌。

????直到不久之前，百思買（Best Buy）還一直樂于聽到這樣的消息。在明尼蘇達州里奇菲爾德的百思買總部，這家公司一邊笑看競爭對手挨個倒下，一邊還找到了與亞馬遜（Amazon）等在線零售商競爭的方法。例如，公司模仿蘋果（Apple）零售店內(nèi)的“天才”服務，擴展了奇客（Geek Squad）服務。但現(xiàn)在，百思買本身也陷入麻煩，難以自拔。與那些被外部力量摧毀的實體競爭對手不同，百思買的內(nèi)部混亂、以及激烈的外部競爭正在將它推向四分五裂的命運。

????首先，讓我們了解一下百思買的內(nèi)亂。

????今年四月，時任CEO布萊恩?鄧恩辭職，據(jù)說是因為他與“一位女性員工存在極為親密的個人關(guān)系，對工作環(huán)境造成了極其負面的影響”。五月，公司審計委員會的調(diào)查報告披露，鄧恩曾給該女性員工600美元，并“用手機與她聯(lián)系了224次，其中包括33通電話、149條短信和42條彩信或視頻信息。”

????審計委員會認為兩人的關(guān)系“既不浪漫，也不能說不正當”，但它造成的影響并沒有隨著鄧恩的離職而平息。審計委員會還發(fā)現(xiàn)，百思買創(chuàng)始人、時任董事會主席理查德?舒爾茨去年12月份就了解到了這種不正當關(guān)系的存在，卻并未通知審計委員會、人力資源部或任何董事會成員。委員會認為，這種行為“很不合適”，并敦促舒爾茨辭去董事會主席的職位。

????隨著臨時CEO和新任董事會主席走馬上任，百思買鬧劇似乎迎來了大結(jié)局。但事實并非如此。

????《紐約時報》（The New York Times）六月份的報道稱，擁有百思買20.1%股份的舒爾茨正在與銀行談判，希望奪回公司的控制權(quán)，并將其私有化。他會選擇與主要投資者合作，收購剩余股份，還是將現(xiàn)有股份拋售給潛在買家，目前尚不明確。如果媒體說的沒錯，舒爾茨應該正在靜靜等待機會的到來。今年年初以來，百思買的股價已經(jīng)下跌了24%，若從去年夏天算起，下跌幅度更是達到了驚人的38%。至發(fā)稿前，公司市值是60.4億美元，最近的困境讓這家公司身價大不如前。

????然而更糟糕的時，百思買還面臨許多外部壓力和財政困境，可能會導致股價持續(xù)下跌。乍一看，百思買的財務狀況似乎頗為樂觀。公司公布截至5月5日第一財季的總收入為116億美元，比去年同期增加了約3億美元，利潤也達到1.58億美元，但與去年同期的2.12億美元相比，今年公司的利潤明顯減少。

????壞消息不止這一條。公司報告稱，零售空間每平方英尺收入與去年同期相比沒有變化，這是一個很嚴重的問題。而每家店鋪的營業(yè)收入?yún)s減少了13%。臨時CEO麥克?麥肯在向投資者提供收益報告的同時發(fā)表了一則聲明，承認了公司目前的現(xiàn)狀。他在聲明中試圖打消投資者的疑慮：“我們很清楚，公司必須更好地適用新市場形勢，我們正在制定一個長期計劃，目的是使百思買與消費者的聯(lián)系更加密切，在未來幾年保證公司獲得持久的、有利可圖的回報?！?/p>

????百思買的問題其實很簡單——那就是成本過高。上個季度，百思買需要承擔4，240萬平方英尺零售空間的租金支出，而亞馬遜、Overstock等在線零售商則根本不需要擔心這筆開支。此外，為了保證利潤，百思買又不得不將成本攤到產(chǎn)品當中，結(jié)果提高了產(chǎn)品價格，促使消費者選擇網(wǎng)上購物。對百思買來說，成本過高并不是什么新問題，只是現(xiàn)在顯得更加突出了而已。

????為了解決這個問題，今年早些時候，百思買曾宣布將關(guān)閉50家經(jīng)營不善的店鋪。截至5月12日，已經(jīng)有41家店鋪被關(guān)閉。百思買大規(guī)模重組措施還包括削減企業(yè)支持服務的成本和銷售成本，而大批店鋪的關(guān)閉是其中一部分。百思買希望截至2015財年，所有措施可以削減8億美元開支。

????但公司到底會如何發(fā)展，繼續(xù)保持上市公司身份，還是被私有化，仍有待觀察。畢竟，實體科技零售商之前都經(jīng)歷了災難性的滑坡，幾乎無一幸免。然而，它們并沒有經(jīng)歷百思買這么戲劇性的序幕。

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????Over the years, countless technology retailers have groaned their way toward death. Companies like Circuit City and CompUSA were once destinations for consumers looking for the latest tech goodies. Even Babbages was popular. Now, they're all gone. Although Systemax (SYX) bought the CompUSA and Circuit City brands, they're not the same. And they never will be.

????Until recently, that had been good news for rival Best Buy (BBY). From headquarters in Richfield, Minnesota, the company watched competitors fail and found ways to compete with online retailers like Amazon (AMZN). It branched out, for example, into services like the Geek Squad, a sort of roving version of Apple's (AAPL) in-store "geniuses." Still, Best Buy is now itself in deep trouble. And unlike its old brick-and-mortar competitors, which died mainly from external forces, it appears that internal chaos -- as much as tough competition -- is tearing it apart.

????Let's start with the chaos.

????In April, then-CEO Brian Dunn resigned from his post after he allegedly engaged in "an extremely close personal relationship with a female employee that negatively impacted the work environment." An investigation by the company's Audit Committee revealed in May that Dunn had given the person $600 and had contacted her "by cell phone at least 224 times, including 33 phone calls, 149 text messages, and 42 picture or video messages."

????The fallout from that relationship, which the audit committee said was "not romantic or otherwise improper," didn't end with Dunn's dismissal. The audit committee also found that Best Buy founder and then-chairman, Richard Schulze, knew of the relationship last December, and failed to inform the audit committee, human resources, or any board member. That conduct, the committee argued, was "inappropriate," and prompted Schulze to step down as chairman.

????With an interim CEO and new chairman in place, Best Buy's soap opera appeared to be over. Or not.

????The New York Times reported in June that Schulze, who still owns 20.1% of Best Buy, was in talks with bankers to seize control of the company and take it private. Whether he'd team with major investors to acquire remaining shares or dump his current holdings to enter into a deal with would-be buyers remains unclear. If nothing else, media reports suggested Schulze may be lurking, waiting for an opportunity that may be around the corner. Best Buy shares are down 24% since the beginning of the year and a whopping 38% since last summer. With a market capitalization of $6.04 billion as of this writing, its woes have made it more affordable than ever.

????Worse yet, the company is facing all kinds of external pressures and financial struggles that could send its share price lower still. At first glance, Best Buy's financial performance might not appear to be so concerning. During the company's first fiscal quarter ended May 5, it posted a profit of $158 million on revenue of $11.6 billion. Its revenue was up nearly $300 million over the same period last year. However, Best Buy's profit was down from the $212 million it generated in the prior year.

????That wasn't the only sour note. The company reported that its revenue per square foot of retail space remained unchanged year-over-year -- a major problem -- and its operating income per store was down 13%. It was that reality that interim CEO Mike Mikan acknowledged in his statement to investors accompanying the earnings report. "We know we have to better adapt to the new realities of the marketplace, and we are creating a long-term plan designed to make Best Buy more relevant with customers and position the company for sustained, profitable returns in the years ahead," he tried to reassure investors.

????The issue for Best Buy is its costs are simply too high. Best Buy was paying for 42.4 million square feet of retail space last quarter – a figure that Amazon, Overstock, and other online retailers obviously don't need to worry about. And in order to generate a profit, Best Buy is forced to incorporate that cost into its products, pushing prices up and prompting consumers to go online. It's not a new issue, for sure, but it's an increasingly worrisome one.

????To combat that, Best Buy announced earlier this year that it would close 50 of its underperforming stores. As of May 12, the company had closed 41 of those retail locations. The store closures are part of a broader restructuring that includes reducing costs in its corporate support function and cutting its cost of goods sold. All told, Best Buy hopes to save $800 million by fiscal 2015.

????But exactly what the company will look like – and whether it'll be public – by then remains to be seen. After all, brick-and-mortar tech retailers have slid down a slippery slope before, crashing and burning in nearly every case. All without the theatrical preamble of an ousted founder.