BEST-BUY SCALES DOWN UK PLANS

[Anonymous]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9f40f0d4-3a9f-11de-8a2d-00144feabdc0.html
Best-Buy scales down UK plans
Best
Buy, the US electricals group, is scaling down plans to open 100 large
consumer electronics stores in the UK by 2013, the head of its
international operations has revealed.Robert Willett, chief executive
of Best Buy International, said the joint venture with Carphone
Warehouse was more likely to open about 80 “big box” stores in the UK
by this time.He denied this represented a retrenchment for the US
retailer, which has already postponed its assault on the UK from this
summer to spring next year.Mr Willett said that if rivals believed Best
Buy was getting cold feet “then they are creating a false sense of
security for themselves”.

Instead, the more moderate roll-out of
the large stores reflected the continued growth of online demand for
electronics, together with the success of a trial of smaller-format
Wireless World stores.”We still look to have the same impact on the
market . . . but we are going about it in a multi-channel, multiformat
strategy,” he said.The joint venture plans to open between one and five
“big box” stores in the UK next spring and has already secured sites at
between a third and a half of what the property would have cost 18
months ago. It will also open a “material number” of Wireless World
stores.However, Mr Willett acknowledged that the economic downturn was
playing a part in the moderation.

It was possible Best Buy could
step up the pace if the UK stores were well received. Mr Willett said:
“Best Buy opens 100 [stores] a year in the US, so we know how to open
100 a year. Getting to that 100 is not a problem. It is still an
ambition, but it really depends on how well the pilot goes.”* Carphone
Warehouse has made an informal offer of £250m for the UK broadband
assets of Tiscali, the Italian telecoms company.People familiar with
the situation said a deal could be unveiled as soon as this week,
although they cautioned the proposed acquisition could still fall
apart.A deal would make Carphone Britain’s second largest broadband
supplier.

[Author]

May 15, 2009 at 3:08 PM