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That's a Lot of Big Screen TVs

Best Buy and Circuit City both report strong 4Q sales

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The nation's two largest electronics retailers — Best Buy (Minneapolis) and Circuit City (Richmond, Va.) — reported significant sales growth in the fourth quarter 2001. But both warned that first quarter 2002 sales and earnings might be disappointing.

Best Buy reported an 84 percent surge in profits over a year ago, a 28 percent gain in sales and a 4.5 percent rise in same-store sales. But the retailer said it expects earnings per share for the first quarter to be about 30 cents to 32 cents, just below analysts'consensus estimate of 34 cents a share. That news drove its stock price down 6 percent.

The company added 62 stores in the past 12 months, bringing its total to 481 Best Buy stores. It also operates about 1320 Musicland stores, and 95 Future Shop stores in Canada.

Best Buy's leading rival, the recently troubled Circuit City chain, said sales of big screen and digital TVs and wireless phones helped boost its profits for the quarter by 51 percent. Circuit City Group, which runs the electronics chain, reported a sales gain of 7 percent and a same-store sales gain of 6 percent. Circuit City Stores also runs CarMax used cars, but that division is slated to be spun off this summer.

“As anticipated at the start of the year,” said president and ceo W. Alan McCollough, “the fourth quarter results for our Circuit City business represented a solid improvement in both sales and earnings trends from the earlier quarters of fiscal 2002.”

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