By: Wally Hucker
Published: 7/2/2008 12:13:09 PM
A document filed by Best Buy Co., Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States was the source for the surprise news that Kevin Layden will resign as C.O.O. of Best Buy International, effective July 4. The filing indicated that Layden gave his notice on June 23. No successor has been named.
Layden assumed the position of C.O.O. of Best Buy International on January 4 this year. He joined Future Shop in 1997, not Best Buy as reported in U.S. media, after 17 years with Circuit City, where he started his career as a 12 volt installer. By the time Future Shop founder Hassan Khosrowshahi sold the company to Best Buy in 2001, Layden was president and C.O.O. of the retailer with 82 stores, headquartered in Burnaby, BC. Layden retained his position under the new regime. Forbes magazine reported that in 2008, Layden, age 47, was to be paid US$792,393, with a bonus of US$862,234 plus addition long-term compensation of almost US$2 million.
When Layden ascended to the position of C.O.O. for Best Buy International last January, he was succeeded as head of Best Buy Canada, which operates both Best Buy and Future Shop banners, by Mike Pratt. Future Shop now has about 130 stores across the country, while the Best Buy banner operates about 50, from B.C. to Quebec, and in Nova Scotia.
Layden chose to remain headquartered in Burnaby, B.C. He is the also chair of the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), and serves on the boards of the Business Council of British Columbia and Tree Island Industries.
As recently as three days before his resignation, Layden was featured in an article by Marina Strauss in The Globe & Mail in which he espoused his continuing belief in the dual banner policy. , In a feature interview on the occasion of Future Shop’s 25th anniversary that appeared in the October 2007 issue of Marketnews, Layden strongly hinted that the dual-brand philosophy would be introduced when Best Buy expanded in China, Turkey, and Mexico. This was despite the fact that Best Buy Founder and Chairman Richard Schulze has been noted as being among those in the parent company that were against a dual brand when the Minnesota-based CE retail giant bought Future Shop.
Some major Canadian CE retailing industry insiders commented to me, on the condition of anonymity, that they cannot understand the timing of the resignation, after such a major and positive article as the one that appeared in The Globe & Mail. Some speculated that an-anti dual banner backlash had arisen, and perhaps the article was the final straw.
No reasons have been given as of this writing for Layden’s resignation, and there are no announcements on Best Buy company Websites in Canada, the U.S., or on the company’s public relations media sites. Various media have reported lack of replies from Best Buy. Calls and e-mails placed by Marketnews have not yet been returned. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
