Sadly nothing really surprises me anymore when it comes to local and national chain businesses closing for good

The news from Best Buy was not good. If you have never been in one of these stores, this is a HUGE "playground" if you will for any fan of the latest video gadgets and electronics - from big screen TVs to video games to the fancy watches that have all the latest technology. The announcement just recently is not good, with 17 stores from its familiar chain closing permanently.

'Sound of Music' - remember this? I'm not talking about the musical

For those of you that grew up in Minnesota, you might remember Sound of Music - an electronics store specializing in high fidelity -  there were 9 of these back in 1978 - "In 1983, with seven stores and $10 million in annual sales, Sound of Music was renamed Best Buy Company" according to Wikipedia. Back on March 3rd, bestlifeonline.com reported "...Best Buy CEO and director Corie Sue Barry stated that Best Buy is planning to close 17 stores this week, identified "through our normal stringent lease review process."

How many Best Buy North Dakota stores were closed?

As of last month, all 4 ND locations are still open - Here in Bismarck, Minot, Fargo, and Grand Forks. Unfortunately "...two stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota is departing as well" - So these are the signs of the times. The stores that were so gigantic when they first opened are slowly fading away. I think for Best Buy loyal customers and employees the saddest news was this - "Best Buy will continue to close an average of 15 to 20 traditional large-format stores per year," The so-called writing on the wall is looming.


 

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