Richard “Dick” Schulze was born and raised in St. Paul, MN, and has contributed much to his beloved home state. He received technical training in the U.S. Air Force with the Minnesota National Guard. Following his discharge, he worked for the next six years as an independent manufacturer's representative selling consumer electronics components throughout a four-state area before founding Sound of Music, a chain of six stereo component retail stores, in 1966. Sound of Music hit the $1 million mark for annual sales in 1970, just four years after its debut.
In the early 1980s, the company quickly expanded into video products and appliances, adopting the name Best Buy in 1983 and becoming a publicly-traded company two years later. In 1989, Best Buy pioneered a new superstore concept that placed all inventory on the sales floor and featured non-commissioned product specialists. Schulze was an early proponent of the big-box-store concept with inventory on the sales floor that customers could touch. Best Buy became the first national retailer to sell DVD hardware and software in 1997. One year after the DVD format’s debut, Best Buy sold its one-millionth DVD in 1998.
Schulze has been an officer and director from the inception of Best Buy and currently is chairman of the board. In June 2002, he relinquished his CEO duties.
Best Buy has grown from a regional U.S. company to a multinational portfolio of well respected brands. Best Buy acquired Future Shop, Canada's largest consumer electronics retailer in 2001, and launched the Best Buy brand in Canada in 2002. The following year the company acquired Geek Squad and opened Best Buy’s first global sourcing office in Shanghai, China. Best Buy has maintained a tradition of improving people's lives by making technology and entertainment products fun and easy-to-use.
Schulze has been indispensable to local charities, businesses and educational institutions. He holds an honorary degree from University of St. Thomas (UST) in St. Paul, MN. He also is a member of the Minnesota Business Partnership, a collective of the state’s 85 largest corporations, working alongside legislators to develop public policy. He gave what was then the largest donation to a Minnesota college or university when he donated $50 million to assist in opening the UST School of Law, featuring the prominent Schulze Grand Atrium, as well as the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. Schulze now serves on the board of trustees at UST, as well as the board of directors of Pentair Inc., The National Entrepreneur of the Year Institute, the Carlson School of Management’s Board of Overseers and the Advisory Board for the Science and Technology Center.
A notable philanthropist, Schulze has worked with many civic committees and organizations such as the United Way’s Keystone, Camp Courage of Minnesota, and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. He helped to raise funds for more than 103 local charities from 73 local companies when he served as chair of the Pacesetter Division, a part of the Minneapolis United Way Chapter.
A visionary and founder of the largest CE retailer in the U.S. and Canada, Schulze also has contributed timeless energy and resources to charities, businesses and the CE community. Schulze and his wife Maureen have 10 children.