Best Buy Co. (Richfield, Minn.) says its refocusing its retail strategy, putting more emphasis on growing its online and mobile businesses while scaling back its big box retail space.
Among the plans, reports The Wall Street Journal, are an effort to grow its Best Buy Mobile stand-alone format to 600 to 800 locations in the U.S. within five years and to double its current $2 billion online business within three to five years. Its big box format is expected to be reduced by 10 percent within that same time period.
The efforts come as part of a broader strategy to combat declining sales and rising competition from such retailers as Amazon.com Inc., Walmart and Costco Wholesale Corp. The retailer has reported months of declining same-store sales, including the holiday season when most electronics retailers see positive results.