Best Buy Might Be Interested in Old Circuit City Stores

Best Buy Co. Inc. (Richfield, Minn.) has indicated it might be interested in former Circuit City locations.

Brad Anderson, ceo of the nation’s top consumer electronics retailer, told the Reuters News Agency, “We are looking at some of those [stores], but our first priority is to stay cash strong.”

Anderson, who plans to retire in June, was in Davos, Switzerland, attending the World Economic Forum. But he noted that Best Buy hasn’t been untouched by the U.S. economic slump. “We would be more cautious than we would [be] in most environments and take advantage of less of that than we would have a year or two ago,” he said. “[The U.S. economy is] probably close to a bottom, [but there’s the “risk of another real estate move down. Consumer spending could see a little further drift down as we go into the year.”

Last week, Best Buy said it would begin involuntary layoffs at its Minneapolis headquarters in an effort to cut costs.