Finest Purchase is at a essential juncture as the buyer electronics retailer goals to revitalize its efficiency underneath incoming CEO Jason Bonfig, who spoke completely with CNBC about his technique for the corporate.
The corporate has been battling slumping gross sales over the previous few years, which it has attributed to decrease shopper confidence, much less tech innovation and a slower housing market. In an effort to refresh its merchandise, enhance the shopper expertise and drive extra gross sales, the retailer introduced Bonfig will succeed present CEO Corie Barry this fall.
As he prepares to take the helm, Bonfig has mentioned he is centered on 4 key pillars: advancing Finest Purchase as a retail and expertise firm, enhancing its attain, enhancing the shopper expertise and specializing in being a human-powered firm. Bonfig has additionally mentioned he is trying into methods to capitalize on the unreal intelligence growth and Finest Purchase’s spot in that subsequent chapter.
This week, Finest Purchase opened two new shops, one in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and one in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which Bonfig informed CNBC illustrates his technique as he prioritizes returning the corporate to long-term and sustainable progress.
“What we’re discovering is that there are markets that we simply cannot be in with a conventional measurement Finest Purchase retailer, however they’re markets that completely make sense for Finest Purchase from a attain perspective,” Bonfig mentioned.
Consumers wait outdoors at a Finest Purchase retailer on Black Friday in New York, US, on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.
Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
To lean into these markets, the corporate is opening new small-format shops, starting from 12,000 to fifteen,000 sq. ft, in comparison with its medium-format shops, which vary from 20,000 to 25,000 sq. ft. A few of its largest shops, together with its flagship location in New York Metropolis, exceed 40,000 sq. ft.
The brand new small shops faucet into Bonfig’s precedence of increasing the corporate’s attain, he mentioned.
“We additionally know that after we put a retailer near a buyer, it does not simply change the purchasers’ habits within the frequency of the visits of the shop … it additionally modifications their habits digitally as effectively,” Bonfig mentioned.
When Finest Purchase joins a brand new, smaller group, he mentioned, the corporate has discovered extra clients bodily go to a retailer for the primary time, however additionally they use the app and digital channels as effectively. The Jonesboro retailer marks Finest Purchase’s return to the city after a twister destroyed its earlier location.
“It is an excellent instance of a vibrant market, a spot the place clients are desirous about our model, however not a market that might help a 30,000- or 35,000-square-foot retailer,” Bonfig mentioned. “An 18,000-square-foot retailer permits us to have the very best of all of our completely different classes and meet the wants at that specific location.”
The second opening, in Cape Cod, is barely bigger than Finest Purchase’s regular medium-format shops, coming in at 28,000 sq. ft, however Bonfig mentioned it is one other instance of discovering “the suitable measurement retailer in the suitable location in the suitable node.”
He added that Finest Purchase Canada, which might usually do issues sooner than its U.S. counterpart, has been after the small-format retailer for “an prolonged time frame” and has seen success with places as small as 7,000 sq. ft.
Nonetheless, Bonfig emphasised that the small shops will not be a alternative for its extra typical-format places.
“It is truly an enhancement of what we’re doing right now,” he mentioned. “But it surely truly permits us to succeed in extra clients and extra markets that we simply weren’t in earlier than.”
Making an attempt to show the web page
Jason Bonfig to succeed Corie Barry as Chief Govt Officer.
Courtesy: Finest Purchase
Over the previous 5 years, Finest Purchase has seen its inventory sink roughly 20% after hitting its peak in late 2021, buying and selling at $138 per share.
For the present fiscal 12 months, Finest Purchase has mentioned it expects comparable gross sales within the vary of a decline of 1% to a rise of 1%. Although its most up-to-date quarter outperformed Wall Avenue expectations, it got here on the heels of years of declines, just like the third fiscal quarter of 2026, when Finest Purchase reported web revenue of $140 million, down from $273 million the 12 months prior.
The retailer was additionally hit by tariffs and is navigating the hovering value of reminiscence chips, which have brought on the prices of some shopper electronics to rise.
Bonfig mentioned he attributes Finest Purchase’s latest stagnant efficiency to a common pull-forward habits from customers throughout Covid that created an unprecedented demand curve that led to a lull. Like house enchancment firms, Finest Purchase noticed outsized spending as consumers had been caught at house and seeking to improve.
He mentioned Finest Purchase noticed that habits reset the expertise life cycle for lots of customers whereas additionally forcing distributors to pivot from innovation to manufacturing.
“I would not say that Finest Purchase’s misplaced its momentum,” he informed CNBC. “I feel there’s been a really attention-grabbing couple years, or possibly greater than a pair years, available in the market the place there was an attention-grabbing demand curve the place all the pieces was pulled ahead.”
As he prepares to take the reins of the corporate, Bonfig mentioned he is centered on enhancing the shopper expertise, together with upgrading TV alternatives and dealing with clients to interchange their current TVs.
Bonfig mentioned he’ll outline success throughout his tenure as CEO by the shopper response.
He additionally mentioned the corporate is leaning into AI for purchasers and the company facet of the enterprise, including that Finest Purchase is actively investing in new merchandise like Meta’s glasses. Finest Purchase additionally has an AI instrument for purchasers to make use of, along with partnerships with OpenAI and Google.
“Agentic commerce and commerce via AI platforms is occurring right now,” Bonfig mentioned. “We’re seeing site visitors there, and we need to ensure that the Finest Purchase expertise is represented.”
Nonetheless, he added, he expects AI to be an enhancement to the human energy behind Finest Purchase.
And, in the end, as he appears to be like to step into his new function, Bonfig mentioned he nonetheless believes within the core power of Finest Purchase regardless of its latest stagnation.
“Corie had a tremendous technique, and my technique is constructed on high of that,” Bonfig mentioned. “There’s a great quantity of momentum.”
