Best Buy's December Revenue Rises 10%; Comps Increase 2.5%; Promotes Healy to EVP, Business

LAS VEGAS — Best Buy today reported that revenue for the fiscal month ended January 1, 2005, rose 10% to $5.1 billion, compared with $4.6 billion for the fiscal month ended January 3, 2004, according to a Business Wire report.

The revenue increase was principally driven by the addition of 79 new stores in the past 12 months. Best Buy also reported a comps gain of 2.5% for the five-week period.

"Our stores' productivity has never been higher," said Brad Anderson, vice chairman and ceo, referring to revenue per sq. ft. "While we noted a modest decline in customer traffic compared with that of December of last year, our average ticket increased, driven by continued consumer interest in digital products and the performance of our customer centricity stores. Our comps gain came on top of a 9.3-percent gain for the same period last year. Overall, we believe we gained market share, thanks to outstanding teamwork between our retail and corporate employees."

U.S. and Canadian Stores Enjoy Comps Gains, Customer Centricity Stores' Gains Collectively Continue to Lead Chain

The company's 661 U.S. Best Buy stores reported revenue of $4.5 billion for fiscal December, an increase of 9% over the prior year. Best Buy's U.S. stores reported a comps gain of 2.6% for the fiscal month, reflecting solid in-store execution and the benefit of two extra shopping days prior to Christmas. Best Buy's 67 segmented stores, which opened in October as part of the company's customer centricity initiative, collectively maintained their relative sales outperformance compared with the other U.S. Best Buy stores, which was expected.

"We were very pleased with our segmented stores' performance and continue to explore ways to apply what we are learning to other stores," Anderson said. "Best Buy's customer centricity initiative empowers employees to recognize unique sets of customers and to build offerings and experiences that meet their specific needs. These stores' continued performance gives us increased confidence that this approach is the right direction for Best Buy."

Magnolia Audio Video, a high-end retailer of consumer electronics with 22 stores, reported revenue of $20 million, which was a decrease of 6%, driven by a comps decline of 6.0%. The company's domestic segment, including both U.S. Best Buy stores and Magnolia Audio Video stores, had revenue of $4.5 billion, an increase of 9%, including a comps gain of 2.6%.

The company's 144 Canadian stores, including both Future Shop and Best Buy locations, contributed revenue of $610 million for the fiscal month, an increase of 23% compared with the prior year. Approximately two-fifths of the increase was due to favorable exchange rates, while the addition of new stores also had a significant