Best Buy gets stake in British retailer
Best Buy has purchased a $2 billion stake in British retailer Carphone Warehouse. The two companies plan to open electronic superstores across Europe. This will be a first. From London, Stephen Beard has more.
Best Buy customer shops for DVDs. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Renita Jablonski: Best Buy is plugging into Europe. The company has bought a $2 billion stake in a big British retailer called the Carphone Warehouse. From London, Stephen Beard reports.
Stephen Beard: Best Buy sells 20 percent of all the electrical goods sold in the U.S. Now, it wants a similar share of the European market.
The deal with Britain's Carphone Warehouse is the first step. Together the two companies plan to open a series of vast electronic superstores across Europe.
This will be a first. There are no huge supermarket-size outlets devoted to electronic goods on this side of the pond.
Britain's biggest existing electrical retailer, DSG, may be feeling a little nervous. Business is bad. The company has issued two profit warnings since the start of the year. And now a big aggressive American competitor has arrived on the doorstep.
In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.
