Mark Szakonyi, Associate Editor | Mar 29, 2012 3:28PM EDT
Best Buy plans to close 50 stores over the next year, the latest sign of how big box retailers are being undercut by e-commerce rivals.
The electronics retailer, which reported a $1.7 billion loss in the fourth quarter, has boosted its e-commerce arm in recent years, but the company’s stores still serve as showrooms for e-retailers. Best Buy plans to open 100 smaller locations that will sell mobile devices by fiscal 2013, according to the Associated Press.
The mobile stores will focus on services, including tech support and wireless connections, and, like the traditional stores, online shoppers will be able to pick up purchases at the sites, according to the Wall Street Journal. The closing of the 50 stores and cutting of 400 workers is part of the retailer’s plan to reduce $800 million in costs.
Best Buy will shrink its 1,100-store footprint by about 4.5 percent through the store closings.
Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @szakonyi_joc.