Help! I've Fallen, and my Stock Went Up!

Best Buy just purchased a company called GreatCall for $800 million, and Best Buy’s own market cap went up -- by nearly enough to cover the purchase price. I’d call that a great call at Best Buy.

But what is GreatCall?

GreatCall sells wearables, pendants and cell phones -- along with subscription plans, so elderly people can quickly and easily reach the right healthcare professional, in case of medical emergency. Remember those old "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" ads? You get the idea. They also have provider networks for elder care, and products and subscriptions sold directly to medical professionals, to help detect emerging healthcare issues passively.

Best Buy's move into services, beyond mainstream retailing, has helped in diversifying their business model and revenues. Wall Street seems to have love the idea. OK, that's great, and I like it, too. But to me, the bigger story here is Best Buy moving into the healthcare marketplace, at all. CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Amazon, Walmart, Kroger, HEB, and…. Best Buy? 

There's real innovation being developed on the costs, availability and delivery of healthcare. And it’s increasingly coming from retailers. Of course this makes total sense for retailers that are heavily invested in the healthcare space, like CVS, Walgreens, etc. But in January, when Amazon announced a consortium with JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway to better manage associate's healthcare costs, followed by the purchase of PillPack in June, a new phase had begun in this "retailization of healthcare." As Best Buy now steps into the fray, the retail players participating in this revolution are shifting still further afield.

Rethinking how healthcare is managed in the U.S. has proven extremely vexing to our government, insurance companies, medical providers, big pharma, and more. How remarkable that it's retailers now that may hold the key to real, attainable innovation. It brings welcome change and new perspectives to a longstanding, difficult challenge.

Let's just hope Best Buy doesn't mix up the Geek Squad and Healthcare Squad when grandma calls for help.

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