Best Buy Europe has “all but signed off [on] lease agreements” to open five big stores in the U.K. next spring, The Independent newspaper reports.
The company wouldn’t disclose dates or locations, but said the stores would be between 30,000 and 50,000 square feet.
And the retailer is getting a bargain because of the economy. A Best Buy Europe executive said retail rents in the U.K. have plummeted to the point that they’re on par with the U.S. market. That’s expected to boost margins by about 2 percent on those stores, he said.
Best Buy plans to open about 100 stores in Europe by 2013.
