4 Brands You Might Not Realize Are Owned By Best Buy

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Consumer tech never rests, so it pays to have a constant, reliable place to go when the latest and greatest products hit shelves. Amazon may be the retailer that first comes to mind, but no one does brick-and-mortar business like Best Buy. The company has shepherded us through multiple generations of TVs, computers, smart home devices, and other must-haves, and continues to be a reputable source for the device groups we just mentioned, along with several others. But did you know Best Buy actually owns a handful of brands you can find in stores and online?

You know how Disney went around and bought every media company under the sun (that's only slight hyperbole)? Best Buy did the same thing with two brands we'll discuss in this article; Best Buy, not purchased technically founded the other two. Most folks know Best Buy owns Geek Squad, so we decided this acquisition wasn't worth a deep dive. That said, let's take a closer look at all four of these Best Buy-adjacent labels, starting with the company's in-house TV maker: Insignia.

The Insignia house label has been a Best Buy staple since 2005, when the first Insignia LCD TVs were released. It wouldn't take long for the brand to expand into other corners of the AV world, with accessories quickly becoming a forte. Venture into your local Best Buy, and you'll find everything from Insignia HDMI cables and power strips to wall mounts and wire management kits.Because Best Buy has often treated its leading private label as a budget-friendly brand, you can usually score a great price on Insignia tech.

The fun doesn't stop at AV add-ons, though. Insignia is also responsible for a handful of refrigerators, small appliances, phone cables, and more. What's new in the world of Insignia? Not long ago, the label released a 4K QLED TV with Mini LED lighting — the Insignia F70 Series (available in 55- and 65-inch sizes). It also looks like those of us with 3D printers can now buy Insignia PLA Glow filament, too. At the time of writing, we also found a great deal on this Insignia 1.1 Cu. Ft. Countertop Microwave; normally listed for $130, the appliance was marked down to only $90.

The writer of this article was a longtime Best Buy/Geek Squad employee. Eight years later, I'm still having nightmares about not knowing my schedule for the week. I can also still remember my employee ID and the SKU for a very popular Rocketfish product: the Rocketfish Tilting TV Wall Mount (9881868, for those interested). Similar to Insignia, Rocketfish is another Best Buy private label that focuses on budget-friendly accessories. TV and speaker wall mounts, cables, and surge protectors are par for the course, but Rocketfish also sells more unique items.

One product that's been around forever is the $150 Rocketfish Wireless Rear Speaker Kit. This transmitter-receiver combo lets you avoid running long lengths of speaker wire to your rear channels. Up to two speakers connect to the transmitting unit via speaker wire, and the receiving unit connects to an AV receiver or amplifier. You can even buy a Rocketfish soundbar mounting kit that's designed to float your bar just underneath a wall-mounted TV. (I also still have the same bottle of Rocketfish LCD cleaner I've been using for over a decade, which was unfortunately discontinued.)

Best Buy is definitely one of the best places to shop for building a home theater piece by piece. Whether you're looking for a TV or projector or pricing out a surround sound system, you'll have plenty of options, and some of these products and services may fall under Best Buy's Magnolia label. Before the acquisition, Magnolia Hi-Fi was a Seattle-based high-end AV retailer with 13 locations. Post-Y2K, Best Buy came knocking, and it finalized the Magnolia purchase by the end of Q4 2000. This would pave the way for a new and exciting era of premium home theater and hi-fi gear.

Magnolia offers everything from premium TVs and soundbars to state-of-the-art speakers, AV receivers, amplifiers, record players, and whatever else you can think of that would live in a fancy home theater. For many years, Best Buy also operated Magnolia Design Centers at specific Best Buy locations; you'll still find these throughout the country, but they've been rebranded as Premium Design Centers (according to r/hometheater). While Best Buy is all about advertising product deals, plenty of folks don't know you can pay to have your TV and other home theater gear delivered and installed by either Geek Squad or Best Buy's Premium Design Center installation team.

Where does one go to purchase the kind of premium kitchen appliances that'll put an entire neighborhood to shame? Why, that would be Best Buy, of course, especially in the wake of the company's Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home (Pac Sales) acquisition in 2005. The latter is a California-based luxury appliances label; when you invest in Pac Sales, you're investing in top-shelf companies like Thermador, Viking, Dacor, and several others. While not every Best Buy location features a Pac Sales section, those that do often share space with Best Buy's standard appliances.

The prices of these industry-lauded stoves and refrigerators can be eye-watering, but Pac Sales tends to offer great promos to help soften the upfront cost. We found several Thermador and Viking deals, including this 17-piece cookware set that you'll get for free when you purchase a qualifying Viking appliance. We should also mention that certain promos may not be available at all Best Buy/Pac Sales locations; if that's the case, you can search for participating stores on Best Buy's site.