Best Buy was founded in 1966, when Schulze opened the first Sound of Music store, an audio components systems retailer in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Best Buy founder Richard “Dick” Schulze has been named to the Consumer Electronics Industry Hall of Fame by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The CEA created the Hall of Fame in 2000 to recognize the pioneers of the CE industry.

“Dick SchulzeHe has changed the face of retailing and made it easy for consumers to find and enjoy technology," said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro.

Schulze will be inducted along with 10 other honorees at the association’s annual awards dinner, held in conjunction with CEA’s Industry Forum on October 14-17, 2007 in San Diego, California.

Best Buy was founded in 1966, when Schulze opened the first Sound of Music store, an audio components systems retailer in St. Paul, Minnesota. In the early 1980s, the company expanded into video products and appliances, adopting the name Best Buy in 1983. With Schulze at the helm, Best Buy pioneered a new superstore concept that placed all inventory on the sales floor and featured non-commissioned product specialists. Best Buy’s goal is to improve people's lives by making technology and entertainment products fun and easy to use.

The 2007 class of the CE Hall of Fame also includes Dr. Amar Bose, founder of Bose Corp.; Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft; John McDonald, former president of Casio USA; Steve Sasson, the Kodak executive who developed the digital camera; retailer William Crutchfield, founder of Crutchfield Corp.; the late attorney James Edward Day, who represented the consumer electronics industry in the landmark Betamax case; the team of Karlheinz Brandenburg, Dr. Dieter Seitzer and Dr. Heinz Gerhäuser who oversaw the development of the MP3 digital music format at the Fraunhofer Institute in Erlangen, Germany; and the late Art Weinberg, a journalist who reported on the industry.