Some years ago, you could blow a Saturday (and your paycheck) by hopping around town visiting sprawling electronic chains like Circuit City, CompUSA, Best Buy, and Good Guys. Not anymore. Without getting deep acquisitions, bankruptcy filings, store closures, re-openings, and re-brandings, suffice to say you’re lucky to have one good electronics store within driving distance, and more often than not, that store is Best Buy. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you’re not a fan of the franchise), Best Buy may not be long for this world. The sad fact is that big box retailers are a dying breed, and nearly everyone knows it. Everyone, that is, except for Richard Schulze, the billionaire founder of Best Buy.

You don’t typically amass billions of dollars by being foolhardy, but even a man of vision can sometimes be blinded by the light. That appears to be the case with Mr. Schulze who has a grand idea of buying out the company he founded with what amounts to a $10 billion proposal, and then proceeding to slash prices in order to compete with the likes of Amazon and other online e-tailers, The Wall Street Journal reports. Oh, and while he’s at it, Schulze wants to transform Best Buy into offering Apple-style customer service.

Can it be done?

There are several challenges that stand in the way of what Schulze wants to do, some more obvious than others. One of the biggest is convincing private equity firms that he’s not off his meds (if he takes any) and that this could actually work. Schulze doesn’t have $10 billion of his own money to see this thing through, and though it’s reported he plans to pony up $1 billion of his personal fortune, that still leaves a balance of $9 billion.

Assuming he’s able to come up with the money, and that Best Buy’s board is willing to approve the deal, Schulze then has to figure out how exactly he can cut costs to compete with online prices while still being able to pay the electric bills, leases, maintenance costs, wages, and everything else associated with running brick-and-mortar stores.

What Schulze wants to do is almost the exact opposite of what Best Buy is already in the process of doing. The electronics chain has put in motion an ambitious cost cutting plan that involves shutting dozens of superstores, shrinking several others, and reducing its overall workforce in an attempt to stop the bleeding (Best Buy posted a $1.2 billion loss during its last fiscal year).

“There is no question that now is the moment of truth for Best Buy and that immediate and substantial changes are needed for the company to return to its market-leading ways,” Schulze wrote in an unsolicited letter to Best Buy’s board. “After assessing all of my options, it is my strong belief that Best Buy’s best chance for renewed success is to implement with urgency the necessary changes as a private company.”

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t

Schulze shouldn’t be mocked for being ambitious, but his plan can (and certainly will) be criticized, scrutinized, and maybe even euthanized if the board rejects his proposal. Plain and simple, it’s cheaper to run a website and a spattering of warehouses than it is to stock and supply a brick-and-mortar chain with products and workers. Even if Amazon starts charging sales tax in all 50 states, it will still have a cost advantage over Best Buy.

This is where the Apple store experience comes into play. Forget any negative connotations you might have towards Geek Squad or Best Buy employees in general, because Schulze’s plan calls for a premium shopping experience at rock bottom prices. It’s Wal-mart meets Macy’s meets Willy Wonka on a foundation of razor thin profits (and several initial years of losses).

It’s hard to imagine Schulze’s grand vision playing out the way he sees it, and over time, those dwindling profits will likely serve as the wrench in his miraculous machine. On the flip side, Schulze is probably right that Best Buy’s current cost cutting measures mark the beginning of the end. Unfortunately, there just doesn’t appear to be an alternate destination for big box retailers, just different paths to the same point.