Best Buy : Following In His Father's (Best Buy) Footsteps

Natalie AlbersStaff Writer

As the rest of his family gathered to celebrate his third birthday, Tony Torres' father attended orientation for his first job at Best Buy.

'I had awaited with great anticipation starting my new job at Best Buy, so I wasn't going to miss orientation,' Antonio Torres recalls. 'I made the last part of Tony's party. It was a memorable day all around.'

Fast-forward nearly 25 years. Antonio has not only grown his career at Best Buy as Tony grew up - today he shares the title of general manager with his son. Antonio leads Best Buy Store 1784 in McAllen, Texas, while Tony heads up Best Buy Mobile Store 2539, just five minutes away in La Plaza Mall.

'I've had this company in my life for almost as long as I've been alive,' Tony says. 'My earliest memory is when my father first applied at Store 241 in Laredo, Texas, and I saw just carpet rolls and fixtures. I was only a few years old.'

Tony also fondly recalls visiting his dad's store on Black Fridays in the years that followed.

'My mother and I would watch from the car until the store opened, just looking at the madness!' he says. 'It looked fun, and my father was having fun. That led to my passion and desire to see for myself what it was like.'

Separate paths

The Torreses share a job title and a name (Tony, after all, is short for Antonio Jr.), and they even held similar first jobs selling car audio at Best Buy. But father and son have paved their own paths within the company.

Antonio's Best Buy career has taken him from the pagers of the 1990s to the evolution into mobile phones - and a variety of management roles in different departments and locations along the way. He's opened several new stores in Texas, building strong teams ready to serve customers on Day 1.

Tony has worked his way around the store in a variety of roles, including assisting customers over the phone, selling TVs and gaming products, and installing automotive technology.

Shop talk

Best Buy has four stores within an 8-mile radius in the McAllen area, and Antonio and Tony have worked at all of them. That doesn't mean they cross paths often at work, though.

The only time they've ever shared a location was when Tony worked at his dad's store for a few weeks while training for a role at a new store prior to its grand opening. Instead, they find themselves catching up over Antonio's culinary specialty, beef fajitas.

'We are close and are definitely family-oriented and just hang out when together,' Tony says. 'Family get-togethers are always fun, and tasty, since my father can really throw down an awesome barbecue!'

Tony says shop talk with his dad often includes some friendly competition as they 'talk smack' and share wins.

Company men

The Torreses' commitment to the company runs as deep as their family's connection.

'Best Buy has afforded my family everything that I have,' Antonio said, 'so I feel I owe this great company everything I have!'

Antonio has been with Best Buy for 25 years. Tony, meanwhile, will celebrate his 10 anniversary next January and hopes to make it to 25 years himself.

'What I love about Best Buy is our relentless commitment to continually adapt,' Tony says. 'We have shown, through our values, that we are here to stay.

'But more importantly,' he adds, 'we are here to grow both our company and our people. I take huge pride in that fact and telling people I work for Best Buy. It is not just my job but my career choice.'

And this all-in-the-family story might not be over yet. As it turns out, Antonio's daughter and Tony's sister, Betty, is a recent high school graduate with plans to - you guessed it - work at Best Buy.

Still searching for the perfect Father's Day gift for your dad? Stop into your local Best Buy store or find gift ideas online at BestBuy.com.