According to local media, the American electronics retail chain Best Buy (BBY) will open a new store on the B2 floor of Beijing's SciTech shopping center in November 2008, marking the beginning of its expansion in the capital of China.
In regards to the information about the opening of the new store, Best Buy is very careful and its public relations company in China said "there is not any news to release". However, SciTech confirmed the entry of Best Buy in Beijing and advertisements have even been published saying the high-end electrical appliances brand Best Buy will be located on the B2 floor of the shopping center in November.
The new Best Buy store will cover an area of about 480 square meters, selling appliances products, and the store will adopt a joint-managed model.
Not long ago, Best Buy announced through its public relations company that it would open four new stores in China before the end of 2008. Moreover, the four new stores would all be located in Shanghai like its existing stores in Xujiahui and Zhongshan Park and the company planned to extend its business to the Pudong New Area. However, the news was later withdrawn by the company.
Best Buy has had problems in China. It closed its Beijing procurement office a few months ago and has been slow to open outlets in China — currently it only has two and they are both in Shanghai. Teh company also has lots of competition from Chinese rivals Suning, Dazhong, and Gome who combined have thousands of stores throughout China.
