Best Buy reports Q1 revenues up, profits down
Retail giant also announces plans to trial used game sales in 6 Canada stores
Best Buy has reported its 2009 first quarter financial results, with an overall quarterly revenue increase of 13 per cent from USD 7.93 billion to USD 8.99 billion in the three months to the end of May 31.
However, gross profit as a percentage of income fell from 23.9 per cent to 23.7 per cent, while net profit fell by 6.8 per cent from USD 192 million to USD 179 million, resulting in a share dip of 5.3 per cent at time of publishing.
According to the financial statement the company increased its domestic market share by around 1.5 per cent, and reported sales gains in its television, computing, videogames and mobile phones categories.
The company is also planning to test the water with the sale of used videogames, a practice not popular with publishers because it apparently eats into the sales of new titles.
According to a report on Globe and Mail the company will trial the scheme at six of its Future Shop stores in Canada.
Particularly the company hopes to attract younger customers, between 12 and 18 years of age, who would then "stay as loyal customers for life," according to the chain's director of merchandising Michelle Grawe.
Although second-hand sales are widespread in the US and UK, EB Games is the only one of the major retailers in Canada to offer the service to customers at present.