Best Buy Downsizing Its Big Boxes

(Oops!  BOXES, not boxers.)

Best Buy to Chop Down Sizes of Largest Retail Stores.  (Daily Tech, 4/15/2011)

Excerpt: The world of retail electronics has changed drastically over the years. It used to be that most people were going to retail stores to make a purchase. Today, many people go into a retail store to see how a device works and research an item, then go home to purchase it online. The reasons for this are many, but much lies with the lower price that many gadgets can be found for online.

The largest consumer electronics retailer left in the U.S. is Best Buy. Best Buy is still facing stiff competition on the market with Wal-Mart, Target and other discount chains selling more electronics than they did in years past. Best Buy currently operates a number of large stores that its calls “big boxes”. These stores range anywhere from 20,000 square feet to 58,000 square feet.

According to Best Buy, these stores have huge overhead and are "white elephants" in the industry. The retail chain is looking to cut the amount of space and overhead these stores have by about 10% over the next several years. This comes after three straight quarters of same-store sales decline and a forecast for more declines in sales. The blame is placed on the Best Buy’s ailing TV business.