Corie Barry, Chief Executive Officer, Best Buy Interviewer: Emma Hinchliffe, FORTUNE
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TechTranscript
00:00 - Good morning.
00:01 Hello, good morning everybody.
00:04 Welcome, thank you for being with us
00:06 for our final day of the MPW Summit.
00:09 As we start today's program, I wanna mention
00:11 that today is the annual International Day of the Girl.
00:15 We celebrate girls around the world today
00:17 and we look forward to them becoming the change makers
00:19 and the most powerful women of tomorrow.
00:22 I have to say, just being here with all of you,
00:26 the power, the intellect that we've gathered
00:29 and all of the information sharing has just been fantastic
00:32 and incredibly inspiring these last few days.
00:36 The whole MPW team has enjoyed talking with you
00:39 and learning from you and I really, really appreciate
00:43 all of your questions and comments throughout.
00:45 Before we get started, I'm sure many of you saw
00:48 the heartwarming photo board on the Monarch patio.
00:52 This highlights AARP's charitable arm, Wish of a Lifetime,
00:56 which grants seniors the opportunity to pursue
00:59 long-standing passions, we all have those.
01:02 We asked you to vote on which of the seniors
01:05 featured on the board should win her wish
01:07 and we're happy to report that AARP is declaring
01:11 all three women winners, everyone's a winner.
01:14 (audience applauding)
01:16 And they will have their wishes granted.
01:19 There's a 101-year-old woman who flew with Amelia Earnhardt
01:23 and is going to get to fly a plane again.
01:26 Yeah.
01:27 One woman is going to drive a race car
01:32 and another is going to take dance classes,
01:34 a long-held passion.
01:36 So thank you so much to those of you who voted
01:39 and of course to AARP for granting their wishes.
01:42 Yeah, amazing.
01:44 (audience applauding)
01:46 Okay, let's get to our discussions for the day.
01:50 We have a great lineup.
01:52 We're going to start with a visionary businesswoman
01:54 known for successfully navigating the challenges
01:57 of the retail industry, driving growth and transformation
02:00 through strategic and innovative thinking,
02:02 all while leading with purpose in mind.
02:05 Cori Berry is the CEO of Best Buy.
02:08 She's been with the company for nearly 24 years,
02:10 rising through the ranks all the way to the top
02:13 and we're pleased to note that Cori once again
02:15 is on Fortune's list of most powerful women
02:17 in business this year.
02:19 She joins Fortune senior writer and MPW co-chair
02:22 Emma Hinchliffe for a conversation on identifying
02:25 new opportunities, meeting consumer demands
02:28 and delivering on the promise to enrich lives
02:30 through technology.
02:31 Please welcome them to the MPW stage.
02:33 (upbeat music)
02:36 Hi, good morning, Cori.
02:44 Good morning, thanks for having me.
02:46 Of course, thanks for helping us kick things off.
02:49 Of course.
02:50 So are people buying big ticket electronics right now
02:53 and what does that mean for Best Buy if they're not?
02:56 Yeah, so I think most people know
02:57 there was a definite pull forward of electronics purchases
03:00 in the pandemic.
03:01 Like we all woke up one day and we're like, oh sweet,
03:02 my office is now my kitchen and my kids are going to be
03:05 in the living room and we got all the things, right?
03:09 And we started with computers and then we're like, oh no,
03:11 I'm going to have to be here for more than six months.
03:13 And so then we're like, I need a camera filter.
03:15 And then we realized, oh, it's been a year
03:17 and I'm streaming a lot more.
03:18 I'd love to have my own home theater.
03:20 And you just saw this massive amount of purchase.
03:23 And so what's happened as we've come out of that,
03:26 we assumed the industry would pull back.
03:28 You're just not going to have that kind of elevated demand,
03:30 especially when you pumped $3 trillion of stimulus
03:32 into the economy.
03:34 But what doubled that is, as you all know,
03:36 incredible amounts of inflation.
03:38 And so people now are prioritizing, really I call it,
03:41 I'm going to overly generalize two big things.
03:43 The basics, food, fuel and lodging are up 20 to 30%
03:47 versus pre-pandemic.
03:48 Wages are up but 17%.
03:50 So you're eating into that savings.
03:52 And they're prioritizing fun, funflation.
03:55 Taylor Swift, she was just on,
03:56 I'm paying $1,000 for that front row ticket.
03:59 And those experiences are really
04:00 where people are willing to pay,
04:01 which means the bigger ticket items in electronics,
04:04 not right now where people are as interested.
04:06 But, but there's a good story there,
04:08 which we'll get to, I'm sure.
04:10 - What is the story?
04:11 - The great thing.
04:13 So I think we live in a really misunderstood industry.
04:17 There's like this idea that it's discretionary.
04:19 Who here will go today without using
04:21 some kind of electronics?
04:23 Like in the next 10 minutes, maybe.
04:24 (audience laughing)
04:25 Like, right, I have a 17 year old boy
04:27 and I think if I took the electronics away,
04:30 I mean, he's got four screens
04:31 at any given point in time, right?
04:33 This is a need, I don't know if you saw
04:35 the Consumer Technology Association just announced
04:38 in partnership with the UN
04:39 that technology is a human security pillar.
04:43 Things like food, community, water.
04:45 Now technology, because it's so essential
04:47 to being connected to the world.
04:50 So you've got this amazing need
04:53 and there's a larger install base of products
04:54 than there's ever been.
04:55 Think about your own house.
04:57 How many pre-pandemic versus post-pandemic
04:59 pieces of connected equipment do you have in your home?
05:03 Biggest install base ever.
05:04 And the coolest part about the stuff we sell is
05:06 it's never static.
05:08 I doubt highly, and if you do, come see me.
05:10 Anyone in here has a computer more than 10 years old, right?
05:13 It just won't work.
05:15 The operating system changes, the hardware changes,
05:17 and the greatest thing about our industry is innovation.
05:20 And so yes, right now people are pulling back,
05:23 but the future will only be more enabled by technology,
05:28 and we are the ones.
05:29 We're the last left standing.
05:30 We are one of one that knows how to commercialize
05:33 that new tech better than anyone.
05:35 - Do you feel like investors, Wall Street,
05:37 are they on board with your idea that technology
05:40 is more of a human right and less discretionary spending,
05:43 and how does that affect things like your share price?
05:45 - So the great thing about Wall Street
05:48 is they are the most pragmatic thinkers by nature.
05:51 Like, if I'm an analyst or an investor,
05:54 just like many of us in this room are,
05:56 you are looking for the sure bet, right?
05:58 So it is always harder to bet on the idea of the future,
06:02 the idea of innovation.
06:04 You're gonna kinda look for the safe harbor.
06:05 So I think there is a realization that we are an N of one
06:09 and that we add real unique value in the ecosystem
06:12 and at the same time, you're against a consumer backdrop
06:15 that is incredibly uneven,
06:18 which means investors are gonna make their own calls
06:20 about where they want their own safe harbor.
06:23 - Yeah, and some of these indicators
06:26 you've said are contradictory.
06:28 Can you explain that a little?
06:29 How do all of these signals contradict each other?
06:31 - It's just the most fascinating thing.
06:33 So I always think about it as a funnel.
06:34 So let's start in the top with the consumer.
06:36 The consumer is in a good place.
06:39 And there's lots written, when does the cliff come?
06:41 Right now, the consumer is in a good place.
06:43 They're spending still at record levels.
06:46 Yes, debt is increasing,
06:47 but it's like normalizing to what it was pre-pandemic.
06:50 Savings are coming down, normalizing to pre-pandemic.
06:53 And they're spending on, as we talked about,
06:55 things like services in air quotes,
06:58 which is restaurants, trips,
06:59 all those wonderful things that we miss so badly.
07:02 And so at the highest level, and what's that buoyed by?
07:05 Lots of savings, 3 trillion is a lot of stimulus
07:08 and a jobs market that I would say defies expectations.
07:12 You still have the lowest unemployment,
07:14 hundreds of thousands of open jobs.
07:17 So that is helping to buoy.
07:18 But then you take that consumer
07:19 and you go down into retail.
07:21 So not even to CE, just retail.
07:23 And because of that trade-off
07:24 between services and inflation,
07:27 goods in general, people are starting
07:29 to shift away from spending.
07:30 And it's hit the sub-industries at different times.
07:32 They've started to pull back in pet care,
07:35 going for more of the basics
07:36 versus the really high-end treatments for pets.
07:38 Started to pull back in lumber and home improvement,
07:40 where you had 60% inflation for a while.
07:43 Each of these are kind of hitting at different points.
07:45 And then when you get into CE,
07:47 definitely because of that huge pull forward of demand,
07:50 that's a place where we've seen people start
07:51 to wait on making some of the purchases.
07:53 So depending on the consumer,
07:55 they're gonna prioritize,
07:56 again, especially when it's the basics,
07:59 they're going to prioritize what's right for their family.
08:01 And still right now, that experiences,
08:03 I think after lacking experiences for a couple years,
08:06 is such a priority for families.
08:08 - Well, this is a very interesting conversation
08:10 and we'll open it up for questions in a moment.
08:12 So start thinking, oh, I think we have one right now.
08:15 We'll wait for the mic handler to get to you,
08:17 so we'll get right back to you.
08:18 But earlier this week, Best Buy announced
08:21 that you were selling glucose monitoring systems,
08:23 which I was interested to see.
08:24 Can you talk a little bit about that strategy?
08:25 Some people might be surprised to hear
08:27 that that's something you can buy at Best Buy.
08:28 - The interesting part of healthcare
08:30 is that it is moving into our own hands, right?
08:33 We are more and more able to buy devices and look at data.
08:37 Like I'm wearing my Oura ring,
08:38 and my Oura ring told me I didn't sleep very well,
08:40 and I'm very stressed out
08:41 about being in front of all of you.
08:42 (audience laughing)
08:43 I have five devices now that are telling me that.
08:46 (audience laughing)
08:47 But it's real.
08:49 The reality though is this device
08:52 has become the most accurate predictor
08:54 of whether or not I'm gonna have COVID.
08:57 If I get up and my score out of 100 is closer to 40 or 50,
09:00 I might feel fine,
09:01 but the underlying metrics are pointing to the fact
09:04 that I'm going to get sick.
09:05 And there are devices like this proliferating.
09:08 And so our strong point of view is the future of healthcare
09:12 will be enabled by technology.
09:14 We're actually going into people's homes
09:15 who have chronic conditions,
09:17 helping them hook up a number of different devices.
09:19 We have a data platform
09:20 that analyzes those geek sweat agents,
09:22 go in and help them.
09:23 We have data platforms that analyze
09:25 and get that back to the doctor.
09:26 So you don't have to stay in the hospital.
09:28 We are an aging society.
09:30 I mean, 10,000 people are turning 65 every day.
09:33 And as far as I can tell,
09:34 very few of those would like to be anywhere
09:36 other than their home.
09:36 And so our bet is strongly supported by data.
09:40 You're gonna be able to start to use
09:41 more and more technology to also pull costs
09:44 out of the healthcare system
09:45 and take control of your own healthcare.
09:47 - Amazing, well, let's go to our question
09:49 and please introduce yourself.
09:50 - Hi, good morning, everyone.
09:52 Ashley Tappan, Insignium.
09:54 And you just answered the question I was going to ask,
09:57 which was about your bet on healthcare.
09:58 So thank you for that.
10:00 But so another question is that people are saying
10:04 that it's harder than ever to be a CEO
10:07 and wanted to hear your thoughts on that
10:09 and why that might be for you.
10:11 - My guess is every generation of CEOs has said
10:14 it's harder than ever to be a CEO.
10:18 I'd also say it's harder than ever to be a mom.
10:20 I mean, I think all of these are escalating topics.
10:25 For me, I think there are a unique set of challenges
10:28 that today's CEO is navigating
10:30 because I mean, we just spent 10 minutes
10:32 talking about a really diverse,
10:34 difficult set of business issues.
10:35 And I talked to my team a lot.
10:37 I mean, it's not just been one major life-changing event.
10:40 We have stacked 10 major life-changing,
10:44 like any one of those taken alone
10:45 would be a generational event.
10:47 An invasion in Ukraine, $3 trillion of stimulus,
10:51 a pandemic, and we have stacked those.
10:54 And so by its nature, no CEO before us,
10:57 none of you, no one before all of you
10:59 has had to navigate that stacked set of crises.
11:01 I laugh because the CEO before me,
11:03 Hubert Jolie, left this beautiful array
11:05 of leadership books in his office that I walked into.
11:08 And not one of them told me what I'm supposed to do
11:11 at the start of a pandemic.
11:12 And I looked.
11:13 And so I think there is this real difficult,
11:18 so you have these business issues.
11:21 And then there is a real stack of social issues
11:23 and expectations for companies that has not existed before.
11:27 20 years ago, your answer as a CEO could be,
11:30 I'm not gonna give you an opinion on that.
11:31 We don't talk about that in business.
11:32 Like that could be a viable answer.
11:34 That is not a viable answer today.
11:35 Not for my team and not for my customers.
11:39 And so that then you stack on top
11:41 of this stacked set of crises.
11:43 And I do think whether it's CEO
11:45 or whether it's the leadership roles
11:46 many of you play in this room,
11:48 they have never looked like they do today.
11:51 And I think you have to build a different level
11:53 of resiliency and humanity in this role
11:56 than you've ever had before.
11:58 - Amazing, another question back there.
12:00 - Hi, good morning.
12:01 Jennifer Deason, CEO of Home Partners.
12:05 I'm too a recovering CFO.
12:07 And just wondering if you could give some advice
12:10 for the group and transitioning to becoming a CEO,
12:12 whether it's from CFO or something else
12:14 and just how you made that mindset shift.
12:17 - Yeah, so I, for those who don't know,
12:19 I was a CFO for three years before I became CEO.
12:22 - And at Best Buy for like 20 something years before that.
12:25 - Yes, and so I've had a lot of different roles at Best Buy.
12:28 I think there's a couple things
12:29 that were really instrumental for me.
12:31 I had a CEO who was also very much a mentor to me
12:34 and stretched my responsibilities as CFO.
12:37 And I think that can work in any role.
12:39 Where I became CFO and the chief transformation officer,
12:42 which by its nature, like left brain, right brain every day.
12:45 You gotta think about growth
12:47 and how you're gonna drive growth.
12:48 And I'm on the hook to make sure our SG&A
12:51 is in line with where it needs to be as an organization.
12:54 And I think the more throughout our collective careers,
12:57 you push, not just, and I just, this is a personal belief,
13:00 I just don't think you're gonna see many linear careers
13:02 that go like straight up one level of expertise.
13:06 I think it's gonna look a lot more like,
13:07 we call it at Best Buy, we call it a lattice versus a ladder.
13:10 And you're gonna spend more time
13:11 trying to add responsibilities or change.
13:15 We're trying to teach the team,
13:16 don't just worry about the next rung.
13:18 Think about how you're gonna build the breadth
13:20 because that is ultimately, I think,
13:22 what makes these days, I'm not saying I'm one,
13:25 hopefully I will be, but a successful CEO.
13:27 Which is you're gonna have to think
13:29 around every corner of every issue.
13:32 And for me, that was the biggest change from CFO,
13:35 where you're a little bit more linear
13:37 in how you're thinking, to CEO,
13:39 where you will opine on everything
13:41 from an invasion in Ukraine all the way
13:45 to a structural issue about your business model.
13:49 So I'm always recommending, add, change,
13:52 push yourself, get uncomfortable.
13:54 It's way easier to try to be great at this linear path.
13:57 You've got to try to make yourself
13:59 really uncomfortable in your career journey.
14:01 - I think we have another question.
14:03 - Hi, I'm Lorraine Harrington, I'm CEO of Catalyst.
14:06 The recent SCOTUS decision around affirmative action
14:09 has really put DEI and the backlash in DEI
14:14 and all the political things on the front burner.
14:16 And I'm wondering how you're reacting to that
14:18 and what do you think the risks are
14:20 and how do you look forward to that as a CEO?
14:23 - I think any conversation you're gonna have on this topic
14:26 has to be anchored in who you are
14:28 as a company and your values.
14:31 So if I just take a step back,
14:32 we've been a company for 50 plus years
14:34 and I actually just had a chance to sit
14:36 with our founder, Dick Schultz, he's 82.
14:38 And Dick, from day one, talked about stakeholder capitalism.
14:43 And it never being one or the other, it being a balance.
14:47 And that is employee, that is customer,
14:49 for us that's vendor partners, it's your communities,
14:52 it's your shareholders.
14:53 And the employee piece then, you have to decide
14:56 as an organization, again culturally,
14:58 what are you trying to do?
14:59 We've been very clear.
15:00 We are trying to create a culture of belonging.
15:03 Not because it's a nice to have,
15:04 because it clearly is the number one driver
15:07 of employee engagement and high employee engagement
15:10 empirically, data-driven says,
15:13 delivers better financial results over time, period.
15:16 And so our focus on belonging,
15:19 now there's lots of different tactics
15:20 that we can use to create that culture of belonging.
15:22 And I'm very lucky, we have 90,000 employees.
15:26 We have an incredibly diverse set of employees.
15:28 And employees who want to lean in
15:29 and help us create this culture.
15:31 And so our focus has been always, since day one,
15:35 and is still, the employee and their engagement
15:38 with the company and that sense of belonging
15:40 is crucial to that experience.
15:42 And so however you're navigating,
15:44 whatever the changing environment is,
15:45 like outside, I said, outside our proverbial walls,
15:48 we stay really focused on the culture
15:50 and the environment that we are trying to create.
15:53 - So, Corey, you became CEO in your early 40s.
15:56 You spent most of your career at Best Buy.
15:57 What comes next for you?
15:59 (laughing)
16:00 - Should I have the luxury to choose that?
16:02 We'll see.
16:03 I always laugh and say,
16:04 there's lots of things you choose as CEO.
16:05 How long you're one is not one of them sometimes.
16:07 (audience laughing)
16:09 You know, truly, joking aside,
16:12 my real dream is someday I'd love to give back
16:15 and I'd love to give back as an educator.
16:17 I have a deep respect for the educators in my life
16:21 and I have a deep thirst for education.
16:24 And I have two kids.
16:25 I have a 17 year old and a 13 year old
16:27 and I would love to be part of the kind of network
16:32 and fiber that builds our next generation.
16:34 So maybe someday I'll get that chance.
16:36 - Well, thank you so much, Corey.
16:38 - Thank you.
16:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]