Private company

Geek Squad

Logo: Geek Squad, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Subsidiary of Best Buy

Geek Squad, Inc. is a subsidiary of American and Canadian multinational consumer electronics corporation Best Buy, headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. The subsidiary was originally an independent company founded by "Chief Inspector" Robert Stephens on June 16, 1994, offering various computer-related services and accessories for residential and commercial clients. In 2002, they merged with Best Buy, retaining Stephens as the primary corporate leadership for the subsidiary.2 It employed about 20,000 people.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Jun 16, 1994Founded1
  • Industrytertiary sector of the economy1
  • HeadquartersRichfield1
  • Legal formsubsidiary company1

Geek Squad, Inc. is a subsidiary of American and Canadian multinational consumer electronics corporation Best Buy, headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. The subsidiary was originally an independent company founded by "Chief Inspector" Robert Stephens on June 16, 1994, offering various computer-related services and accessories for residential and commercial clients. In 2002, they merged with Best Buy, retaining Stephens as the primary corporate leadership for the subsidiary.2

Corporate structure

Geek Squad is part of a group headed by Best Buy. 53 entities, 8 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Best Buy Richfield, Minnesota, United States
    • Geek Squad Richfield
    • Future Shop Subsidiary · Burnaby
    • Lively Subsidiary · San Diego
    • Magnolia Audio Visual Subsidiary
    • BEST BUY CANADA LTD. Subsidiary · 100% · Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    • Albedo Lessee 2, LLC # Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • BBC Investment Co. Subsidiary · Nevada, United States
    • BBC Property Co. Subsidiary · Minnesota, United States
    • BBY Canada Finance, LLC Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • BBY Holdings International, Inc. Subsidiary · Minnesota, United States
    • BBY Insurance Company Subsidiary · Vermont, United States
    • BBY Services India LLP Subsidiary · India
    • BBY Services, Inc. Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • BBY Solutions, Inc. Subsidiary · Minnesota, United States
    • BBY Technology Services, LLC Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • BBY Vietnam Company Limited Subsidiary · Vietnam
    • Best Buy (AsiaPacific) Limited Subsidiary · China
    • Best Buy China % Subsidiary · China
    • Best Buy Distributions Limited Subsidiary · United Kingdom
    • Best Buy Enterprise Services, Inc. Subsidiary · Minnesota, United States
    • Best Buy Enterprises, S. de R.L. de C.V. Subsidiary · Mexico
    • Best Buy Finance, Inc. Subsidiary · Minnesota, United States
    • Best Buy Health Holdings, LLC Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • Best Buy Health, Inc. Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • Best Buy Imports, S. de R.L. de C.V. Subsidiary · Mexico
    • and 28 more

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21 of annual reports filed with the SEC; subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

Products and brands

Locations and partnerships

Geek Squad service centers are located in most Best Buy stores in the United States, including Puerto Rico, and Canada, providing technical support through in-store consultations, home visits, online assistance, and telephone-based services, subject to availability and fees.

Best Buy terminated its partnership with Office Depot in Orlando, Florida, where Geek Squad precincts were located in ten Office Depot locations. The brand is also located in select FedEx Office locations.

In October 2006, Best Buy was reported that Geek Squad would be launching in the United Kingdom in a joint 50-50 venture with Carphone Warehouse, where today it exists as both an onsite service and a remote repair service, although not under the same name. At its peak, Geek Squad services were available in Greater London, the Home Counties, the South Coast and North West areas of England, with phone and remote support was undertaken from Tulketh Mill in Preston (Lancashire) and repairs completed at a site in Wednesbury (West Midlands). In November 2015 Geek Squad repairs moved to Newark following the merger between Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail forming Dixons Carphone (now Currys PLC).

In 2008, Best Buy partnered with online tech support provider SupportSpace to offer remote Virtual Agent services to its clients. SupportSpace was founded in 2006 and provided immediate online tech support services. On July 15, 2013, all Geek Squad business was transferred away from SupportSpace and moved in-house to Geek Squad agents.

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In January 2012, following poor financial results, the Best Buy Europe venture was discontinued with Carphone Warehouse purchasing its 50% of the deal back. In the following years the Geek Squad operations in France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and Portugal were slowly wound down with the brand finally ending in Europe with Carphone Warehouse adopting the Team Knowhow brand in 2017.

In 2013, Geek Squad partnered with Atomic Learning, Inc., allowing its tech support subscribers access to a library of over 60,000 tutorial videos for training purposes, as part of their subscription package.

Total Services

In 2007, Geek Squad officially added Magnolia Home Theater installation teams as well as Best Buy Mobile Installers to the Geek Squad brand. The change was titled, "Total Services" and was aimed towards the combination of major Best Buy services into one cohesive unit. Best Buy mobile installers and Magnolia Home Theater installers have now switched from their previous grey and blue uniforms to grey and orange shirts with grey cargo pants. This change removed all "Magnolia Home Theater Installation" branding and was replaced by "Geek Squad Installation Units" instead. This has now allowed Geek Squad to incorporate home theater installation as one of the in home services offered via telephone. Geek Squad is also now an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

Uniforms and vehicles

In-store PC agents, and in-home PC field agents, wear a white, short-sleeved, pocketless dress shirt. Agents are required to wear a black clip-on tie with the Geek Squad logo pin. Male agents wear black trousers, white socks and black lace-up shoes that used to have the Geek Squad logo on the sole. Female agents may wear either black trousers, white socks, and black shoes; or, a black skirt with hose and black shoes. White and black are the only colors allowed in Geek Squad uniforms. Agents who have served in an eligible capacity within any branch of Geek Squad for eighteen months, or who have held certain positions prior to 2014 including on-site Double Agents, Special Agents, and Deputies of Counter Intelligence carry a metal police-style badge with their Agent Number engraved on it. In October 2019 the Dress Code Policy for Best Buy was updated, with this update an alternate uniform option was introduced for Geek Squad Agents allowing them to wear the black Geek Squad polo along with jeans and sneakers.

The branding of the uniform to include a badge is central to the culture for Geek Squad Agents, including the writing of a 40-page essay, "The Geek Squad Badge", by former/“Sleeper” Double Agent Roman Corrales, Badge #11345. The essay explores history of badges across history, connecting the Roman shield to their evolution into the modern badge worn by many professionals today. The essay has been integrated across much of Geek Squad's employee branding, including being cited in an internal culture manual known as the Little Orange Book.

The Minnesota Historical Society added the official uniform to its permanent collection in 2000.

Geek Squad Autotechs and GSIs (Home Theater Installers) wear a grey button-up work shirt or black short sleeved and collared dress shirt with the Geek Squad logo on the front and optional certification patches on the arms. Matching pants or shorts are worn as well as a bright orange undershirt. These agents also have the option of wearing a grey Geek Squad hat and/or black Geeks Squad nylon jacket.

Prior to 2016, Double Agents and Special Agents drove black-and-white Volkswagen New Beetles (dubbed "Geekmobiles") with an orange-and-black company logo on the door. Geekmobiles in California are all-black with white roof and running boards due to a request by the California Highway Patrol that the vehicles no longer resemble the paint scheme of their police vehicles (a violation of California law). In 2016, Geek Squad began phasing out the New Beetles and replacing them with Toyota Prius Cs.

Geek Squad Agents that leave their roles, are referred to internally, as “Sleeper Agents”- a common quote when saying farewell to an Agent going sleeper is “await the signal”, as a reference to the Bat-Signal from Batman, used to call the superhero in a time of need. The idea is that Geek Squad has always been known to be welcoming of former Agents looking to return for a job, and to wish them luck in their endeavors.

From Wikipedia’s article on Geek Squad, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Oct 1, 2002Acquired Acquired by Best Buy1
  2. Jun 16, 1994Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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