• Wall Street Journal, Monday, April 27, 2009 10:48 AM

Best Buy is using the customer feedback it collects from its customers to make simple innovations to electronic gadgetry that it is selling under a variety of private-label brand names, Miguel Bustillo and Christopher Lawton report.

Sales of Best Buy private-label electronics, such as house brands Insignia and Dynex televisions, rose 40% during the fiscal year that ended Feb. 28. Popular products include a GPS with Google search capabilities, an HD radio that displays the names of songs, and digital picture frames without pricey extras such as music-players.

But promotion of its own brands threatens to strain relationships with some manufacturers. And the reputation of the private brands is a two-edged sword, with potential to lift Best Buy's appeal to customers, or tarnish its reputation. On April 2, Best Buy recalled 13,000 26-inch Insignia televisions, for example.

Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal »