Last May, leading U.S. consumer electronics retailer Best Buy and Britain’s Carphone Warehouse announced a partnership, which saw Best Buy taking a 50 percent stake in Carphone Warehouse, which operates some 2,4000 retail locations in nine European countries. Now, even amidst the current dour economic climate, the companies are expected to push ahead with their partnership, potentially announcing some 200 new UK retail locations next week as they try to make a bold move on Europe’s consumer electronics market. However, some industry watchers say the 200-location figure is too high, and that the partnership will start out with a smaller number of new retail locations.
The new retail offerings are expected to be modeled after Best Buy’s retail outlets in the United States, which tend to offer about 30,000 square feet of merchandise spanning everything from music and movies to home appliances, along with a wide swatch of computing equipment, audio-visual gear, and mobile technologies. Some Best Buy locations even offer musical instruments and gear.
Carphone Warehouse is both a mobile phone retailer and one of Britain’s largest fixed-line and broadband operators.
