To keep growing, incoming Best Buy CEO says he first wants to go smaller

By Alma Cordero · Reporting from El Paso · August 1, 2026

The language they use is always so clean: "optimization," "enhanced reach," "smaller format." Jason Bonfig, incoming Best Buy CEO, pitches this shift as a triumph of vision,…

The Geometry of Retreat

The language they use is always so clean: "optimization," "enhanced reach," "smaller format." Jason Bonfig, incoming Best Buy CEO, pitches this shift as a triumph of vision, arguing that by adopting smaller-format stores—the 12,000 to 15,000 square feet model—they can enter markets where the traditional behemoth simply cannot survive. According to reports from CNBC and tradersunion.com, Bonfig is framing this not as a retreat, but an "enhancement of what we’re doing today," positioning Best Buy less as a retailer and more as a technology and media company. He emphasizes that their new strategy allows them to reach more customers in places they were previously excluded.

But I read through the numbers—the 20% stock dip since late 2021, the net income falling from $273 million to $140 million in Q3 of 2026—and what I hear is not a strategy for growth, but an accounting for decline. This isn't about better service; it’s about minimizing overhead and maximizing profit per square foot. The sheer scale that once defined American commerce—the massive flagship stores exceeding 40,000 square feet—is becoming a liability the balance sheet cannot afford.

When the Center Gives Way to the Corner Store Model

This story of corporate contraction is not new; it echoes an inevitable pattern in American capitalism. We see this mechanism mirrored in the history of Decline of department stores, which once operated hundreds of massive, centralized hubs across the country. The shared mechanism is identical: as consumer habits shift away from large-scale, resource-intensive flagship locations toward specialized, optimized local footprints, the industry must shrink its physical scale to maintain profitability for those at the top. Best Buy’s pivot—from the grand department store model to the curated, smaller format—is simply repeating a century-old economic cycle of diminishing returns on sheer size, where the cost of maintaining presence outweighs the value of the customer relationship.

The Illusion of Human Scale and AI Partnerships

Bonfig repeatedly assures us that this shift is still "human-powered," citing investments in AI tools and partnerships with Meta and Google. But when I look at the policy pillars, what I see is the same underlying mechanism: a relentless drive to make physical presence as efficient, small, and low-cost as possible. The goal isn't to serve the community; it’s to service the shareholder ledger by reducing fixed costs while maintaining the appearance of market penetration.

This corporate geometry of retreat—from massive flagship stores to optimized 15,000 square feet units—is not an innovation in retail. It is merely another iteration of economic contraction that prioritizes maximizing profit while minimizing physical footprint and labor investment. The American economy has a long memory for this pattern; the grand structures always fall first when the math gets too hard.

To keep growing, incoming Best Buy CEO says he first wants to go smaller

The Geometry of Retreat

When the Center Gives Way to the Corner Store Model

The Illusion of Human Scale and AI Partnerships

Sources