Best Buy gets stake in British retailer

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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.