Best Buy losses lead to 50 store closures

Continued profit declines have led US technology retailer Best Buy to close 50 of its big box stores.

The chain reported losses of $1.7bn for the three months ended December 31st, 2011 – a staggering decline from the $651m in profits it reports in the same period last year, according to VG247.

Full-year losses came in at $1.2bn. Again, this is a stark contrast to the $1.3bn in profit it reported in 2010.

As a result, Best Buy plans to close 50 of its larger US outlets. Yahoo reports this is part of proposals to save $850m in costs before 2015. The retailer hopes to open 100 new smaller format stores instead.

The retailer is also axing 400 jobs across the company, although most of these will be from Best Buy’s corporate headquarters.