Best Buy in retreat (pictures)

Best Buy announced this spring that it would close 50 locations around the country in a cost-cutting move.

The company's East River Plaza location in Manhattan was shuttered after only a little more than two years in operation.

On Saturday, the company turned out the lights at the store, which was rarely well trafficked. Here, employees at the store had removed prices from cell phones and other gear.

If he gets control of Best Buy, founder Richard Schulze plans to lower prices and provide good customer service. He says that is key to saving the company.

He's trying to convince Best Buy's board of directors to accept a bid from him that could be worth as much as $8.8 billion.

The company's plight has to be painful for Schulze. The retail chain was once famous for its packed stores and big earnings. Recently, though, the company has been in a sales slump.

Schulze founded Best Buy as an audio-equipment store in 1966. The company didn't change the name to Best Buy until 1983.

On Saturday, the shelves in the audio section of the company's now shuttered East River Plaza location were nearly barren.

Best Buy used to be a big distributor of CDs and DVDs, but sales have been soft as consumers turn to the Internet for media purchases.

We sure have seen a bunch of big-box electronics retailers struggle over the past few years. Good Guys, CompUSA and Circuit City were all either acquired or shut down following periods of store closures and mass layoffs.

Not long after closing down the East River Plaza location, Best Buy decided to cover up the exterior signs rather than remove them.