By Martin Moylan

MPR News/90.1 FM

A few years ago, Best Buy was on the ropes. Amid slipping sales and earnings, there was talk of bankruptcy.

But Hubert Joly took over as an unlikely choice to run the Richfield-based retailer. The former hospitality executive vowed to “renew blue,” calling to mind the company’s blue-shirted employees and primary store color. Now, even some of the greatest doomsayers for Best Buy acknowledge Joly has turned the company around. Best Buy is definitely back.

People may not visit Best Buy stores as much as they did when they had to trek to an actual store to buy music and movies. But Best Buy has arguably established itself as the go-to retailer for all things techy, along with price-matching, free shipping, and plentiful advice and help.

Carol Kladnik of Richfield trusts she’ll get what she needs at Best Buy. “I’m not an electronics freak,” she said. “So, I don’t have a lot. But anytime I bring my phone in and I’ve got a problem, they solve it. And they gave me a great price on the on the tablet I bought.”

Nick Gentle of Minneapolis figures that when he goes to a Best Buy store, he can pretty much count on getting what he wants on the spot. “I think it’s a more instant gratification than say getting something two-day-delivered on Amazon.”

Those customer testimonials represent a sharp turnaround from when Joly came on board in September of 2012. Best Buy’s sales and profits were plunging, but now they’re on the rebound. Sales at stores open at least 14 months were up nearly 6 percent last year. Over the past 5 years, online sales have doubled to more than $6 billion.

Reflecting that improvement performance — and an aggressive share repurchase effort — the company’s stock price has increased more than 500 percent from its low point in late 2012. The stock recently topped $78 a share before falling back.

Last month, Joly told shareholders that he wants Best Buy to be the place consumers go for smart home, virtual reality and other new wave products. “We’re playing to win,” he said.

Joly is even winning plaudits from one of the most bearish analysts following the company, Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter.

“I cannot say enough good things about the management team,” he said of Joly’s efforts to revive the company. “I was skeptical and cynical, and I was wrong. They’re really good.”

Pachter, though, said his doubts remain about Best Buy’s future in a brutal industry.

“Long term it’s a terrible business,” he said. “There is nothing at Best Buy that a person under 60 needs to go to the store to buy.”