http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/19/retail
Best Buy sizes up 30 stores for UK launch
Best buy is in advanced talks to open in the region of 30 UK outlets as the American giant prepares to enter the market with all guns blazing next year.
The retailer will launch stores in tandem with its website when it finally lands in the UK next spring. “We are delighted with the number of sites that are becoming available,” said the chief executive of Best Buy’s international operations, Bob Willett, who was in London last week ahead of Wednesday’s fourth quarter trading update from partner Carphone Warehouse.

Best Buy joined forces with Carphone last year, buying a 50% stake in the retail arm of the British group for £1.1bn. But given the tough climate on both sides of the Atlantic, Willett said the current focus was to “sweat existing assets”, with more Best Buy products set to flow into Carphone’s existing stores. Its computer accessories brand Rocketfish is set to launch in the UK while Carphone will help strengthen its mobile phone business in its Canadian stores.Willett said: “Up to a third of our business will be done on the web, so you don’t need hundreds of stores.”The consumer electronics retailer specialises in laptops, TVs and consoles.