mr2channel
06-23-2011, 01:31 PM
OMG someone quick, get the popcorn!:shock::D
Best Buy Launches Commercial Integration Business
http://www.commercialintegrator.com/images/uploads/best_buy_commercial_division.jpg
With Best Buy Commercial, Magnolia competes directly against commercial integrators for digital signage, building automation and other commercial venue technology.
Jun. 22, 2011 — by Julie Jacobson (http://www.cepro.com/)
Through its Magnolia specialty CE business, Best Buy (http://www.cepro.com/article/best_buy_magnolia_staff_up_for_commercial_integrat ion/) has taken commercial jobs here and there (http://www.cepro.com/article/best_buy_magnolia_staff_up_for_commercial_integrat ion/), but now the retailing giant has launched a concerted effort to sell and install digital signage, building automation, entertainment systems and other technologies for commercial venues.
Magnolia Commercial Integration even has a dedicated Web site (http://www.magnoliaav.com/commercial) now where it touts:
We provide detailed reports and plan drawings to describe and explain the solutions that have been chosen by our design team to bring your creative vision to life. We offer both design-build and stand-alone design in the creation of state-of-the-art systems. In each case, we address the shape and size of facilities, create budgets for technology solutions and identify the individual components for integration into your facility.
Backed by the resources of all of our departments within Magnolia and our parent company Best Buy, Magnolia CI offers an expansive knowledge base with exclusive vendor relationships to bring you the very best design solutions possible.
Brian Krisko, a former residential integrator, heads up the commercial group. He tells Commercial Integrator that the organization still is focused on its original five launch sites (http://www.cepro.com/article/best_buy_magnolia_staff_up_for_commercial_integrat ion/), which are home to standalone Magnolia Design Centers—Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago and Seattle.
Each location has one dedicated commercial account manager that hunts down business just like any other commercial integrator, “but we have the benefit of walk-ins,” Krisko says.
When serious home-technology shoppers come in to the Magnolia Design Centers, often the talk turns to commercial jobs, Krisko explains. Most commercial integrators don’t have that luxury.
That said, Magnolia does not plan to have an extensive in-store showcase of its commercial capabilities.
<!--pagebreak-->The Magnolia shops do not maintain separate residential and commercial installation crews, but individual technicians may have their specialties. And the company does not (necessarily) hire licensed electrical contractors and security installers, just as it does not employ its own carpenters for special trim-out work.
Yet they still provide all of these services via local partners, all coordinated through the Magnolia project manager.
If Magnolia has a commercial integration unit, then what is Best Buy for Business? That group sells more high-volume, less integrated solutions, usually installed by the Geek Squad. For example, BBFB might equip an office with a network and computers, or a hotel with new TVs for every room.
To be sure, Krisko says, there will be cross-over between those groups and “those are discussions we are having.”
In any case, he adds, it’s nice to have a wide range of installers and integrators to handle the variety of projects – from wire-pulling to complex commercial jobs.
Like Residential, Only Different
As CIs know, a commercial job isn’t just a residential project on a larger scale. Krisko says he might have underestimated the challenges of using a single vendor for both residential and commercial jobs.
“Usually, those are two entirely different groups within an organization,” he explains.
Even so, he says that Magnolia vendors on the residential side, including AMX (http://www.commercialintegrator.com/topic/tag/AMX) for automation, have been very supportive of the retailer’s commercial endeavors.
Krisko says that Best Buy has a competitive edge for winning commercial projects, given its vast buying power, extensive network of installers, and “leverage” with vendors.
For example, Magnolia had only 60 days to outfit 18 suites in the Aria at CityCenter (http://www.cepro.com/article/85b_las_vegas_citycenter_banks_on_control4/) in Las Vegas. The company was able to bring in installers from outside of Vegas and get all the equipment shipped to the site expeditiously.
It looks like Best Buy has an open position for a Magnolia Commercial Integration Account Manager (http://www.bestbuy-jobs.com/job/Costa-Mesa-Magnolia-Commercial-Integration-Account-Manager-%28Orange-County%29-Job-CA-92626/1299878/) in Costa Mesa, Calif. “CEDIA or like certification” preferred.
http://www.commercialintegrator.com/images/photos/best_buy_commercial___550.jpg
Best Buy Launches Commercial Integration Business
http://www.commercialintegrator.com/images/uploads/best_buy_commercial_division.jpg
With Best Buy Commercial, Magnolia competes directly against commercial integrators for digital signage, building automation and other commercial venue technology.
Jun. 22, 2011 — by Julie Jacobson (http://www.cepro.com/)
Through its Magnolia specialty CE business, Best Buy (http://www.cepro.com/article/best_buy_magnolia_staff_up_for_commercial_integrat ion/) has taken commercial jobs here and there (http://www.cepro.com/article/best_buy_magnolia_staff_up_for_commercial_integrat ion/), but now the retailing giant has launched a concerted effort to sell and install digital signage, building automation, entertainment systems and other technologies for commercial venues.
Magnolia Commercial Integration even has a dedicated Web site (http://www.magnoliaav.com/commercial) now where it touts:
We provide detailed reports and plan drawings to describe and explain the solutions that have been chosen by our design team to bring your creative vision to life. We offer both design-build and stand-alone design in the creation of state-of-the-art systems. In each case, we address the shape and size of facilities, create budgets for technology solutions and identify the individual components for integration into your facility.
Backed by the resources of all of our departments within Magnolia and our parent company Best Buy, Magnolia CI offers an expansive knowledge base with exclusive vendor relationships to bring you the very best design solutions possible.
Brian Krisko, a former residential integrator, heads up the commercial group. He tells Commercial Integrator that the organization still is focused on its original five launch sites (http://www.cepro.com/article/best_buy_magnolia_staff_up_for_commercial_integrat ion/), which are home to standalone Magnolia Design Centers—Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago and Seattle.
Each location has one dedicated commercial account manager that hunts down business just like any other commercial integrator, “but we have the benefit of walk-ins,” Krisko says.
When serious home-technology shoppers come in to the Magnolia Design Centers, often the talk turns to commercial jobs, Krisko explains. Most commercial integrators don’t have that luxury.
That said, Magnolia does not plan to have an extensive in-store showcase of its commercial capabilities.
<!--pagebreak-->The Magnolia shops do not maintain separate residential and commercial installation crews, but individual technicians may have their specialties. And the company does not (necessarily) hire licensed electrical contractors and security installers, just as it does not employ its own carpenters for special trim-out work.
Yet they still provide all of these services via local partners, all coordinated through the Magnolia project manager.
If Magnolia has a commercial integration unit, then what is Best Buy for Business? That group sells more high-volume, less integrated solutions, usually installed by the Geek Squad. For example, BBFB might equip an office with a network and computers, or a hotel with new TVs for every room.
To be sure, Krisko says, there will be cross-over between those groups and “those are discussions we are having.”
In any case, he adds, it’s nice to have a wide range of installers and integrators to handle the variety of projects – from wire-pulling to complex commercial jobs.
Like Residential, Only Different
As CIs know, a commercial job isn’t just a residential project on a larger scale. Krisko says he might have underestimated the challenges of using a single vendor for both residential and commercial jobs.
“Usually, those are two entirely different groups within an organization,” he explains.
Even so, he says that Magnolia vendors on the residential side, including AMX (http://www.commercialintegrator.com/topic/tag/AMX) for automation, have been very supportive of the retailer’s commercial endeavors.
Krisko says that Best Buy has a competitive edge for winning commercial projects, given its vast buying power, extensive network of installers, and “leverage” with vendors.
For example, Magnolia had only 60 days to outfit 18 suites in the Aria at CityCenter (http://www.cepro.com/article/85b_las_vegas_citycenter_banks_on_control4/) in Las Vegas. The company was able to bring in installers from outside of Vegas and get all the equipment shipped to the site expeditiously.
It looks like Best Buy has an open position for a Magnolia Commercial Integration Account Manager (http://www.bestbuy-jobs.com/job/Costa-Mesa-Magnolia-Commercial-Integration-Account-Manager-%28Orange-County%29-Job-CA-92626/1299878/) in Costa Mesa, Calif. “CEDIA or like certification” preferred.
http://www.commercialintegrator.com/images/photos/best_buy_commercial___550.jpg