from what i've read, best buy is trying to salavage its magnolia investment, which has foundered, by taking it further upscale in terms of both products and shopping experience. their earlier iterations of the concept flopped because of the economy, bad customer service and the brilliant strategy of axing their higher-paid, more knowledgeable salespeople. frankly, i'd be surprised that even if properly executed this version is successful--there's too much price competition in an quickly-shrinking market + high-end buyers may be unwilling to wade through the cacophonous din to get to the fancy goods. fwiw, everytime i'm at best buy the high-end section is virtually deserted--i've never seen anyone actually buy anything there.
