New Best Buy Mobile Stores Test Customer-Centric Approach to Cell Phone Sales & Service

New Best Buy Mobile Stores Test Customer-Centric Approach to Cell Phone Sales & Service

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The technology and entertainment pros at Best Buy and U.K. retailer Carphone Warehouse (CPW) share the belief that American consumers are ready to experience a better way to shop for mobile phones and service. To test their hypothesis, the two leading retailers are piloting a mobile phone-exclusive store concept at nine locations throughout Manhattan.

Branded Best Buy Mobile, the stores improve on a generally inadequate U.S. mobile retail experience by providing a broader selection of products and carrier options, supported by knowledgeable and impartial store associates. New York City was chosen as the pilot market for the test because of its high penetration of cell phone users (one of every 13 U.S. users resides in New York(1)) and its reputation for setting trends that spread nationally.

The two retailers bring complementary strengths to this new approach to mobile retailing. Best Buy is the nation’s leading consumer electronics retailer, with a customer-centric approach to its business, extensive vendor relations and high brand awareness. CPW, the largest independent mobile phone retailer in the U.K. with store locations throughout Europe, specializes in small-box store formats and the ability to delight customers with amenities such as product trade-ins and after-sale service.

“Best Buy has been interested in opening mobile-only stores in more convenient locations for years, and we couldn’t find a better partner to improve the customer experience than the team at CPW,” said David Sprosty, chief executive officer of Best Buy Mobile. “Our goal is to bring real choice to New Yorkers. The Best Buy Mobile experience delivers a wider assortment of handsets and carrier networks, combined with specially trained, impartial mobile phone specialists and convenient locations across Manhattan. It’s a whole new level of service that personalizes the shopping experience for people who want control over how mobile technology integrates into their lifestyles.”

New Best Buy Mobile stand-alone stores averaging approximately 1,000-square-feet each are now open near Union Square, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Terminal, and on the Upper East and Upper West sides of Manhattan. Another four stores operate within existing Best Buy stores in fully renovated “stores-within-a-store.” Each of the Best Buy Mobile stores improves on the customer’s mobile shopping experience by delivering:

Huge selection of mobile phones. Customers may browse through displays featuring more than 80 popular handsets available from manufacturers such as Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG and Samsung, along with a wide selection of accessories.
Freedom of carrier choice. Best Buy Mobile customers may choose from multiple carrier options based on their individual lifestyles. Customers can choose from seven carrier brands, including national leaders Cingular, Verizon, Sprint and Amp’d, as well as pay-as-you-go options from Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, Verizon InPulse and Cingular GoPhone.
Sales and service support: Best Buy mobile phone specialists know mobile. These non-commissioned personnel are trained by Best Buy and CPW to match mobile gear like handsets and accessories with carrier plans for an individualized offering. After the purchase, continued support is available to customers through a Best Buy Mobile Call Center at 1-866-371-0561.
The new Best Buy Mobile stores are open seven days a week. They can be
experienced at these locations:

-- Upper East Side:

-- Best Buy Mobile at Best Buy, 86th and Lexington (DCA Lic.
#1142246/1186187)(2)

-- Best Buy Mobile, 1186 Third Ave. (DCA Lic. # 1243736/1243727)

-- Upper West Side:

-- Best Buy Mobile, 2233 Broadway (DCA Lic. #1243721/1243718)

-- Midtown:

-- Best Buy Mobile, 750 Seventh Ave. (DCA Lic. #1243704/1243712)

-- Best Buy Mobile, 360 Madison Ave. (DCA Lic. #1243690/1243691)

-- Best Buy Mobile at Best Buy, 529 Fifth Ave. (DCA Lic.
#1211434/1211435)

-- Chelsea:

-- Best Buy Mobile at Best Buy, 60 W. 23rd St. (DCA Lic.
#1111909/1186201)

-- Union Square:

-- Best Buy Mobile, 2 Union Square East. (DCA Lic.
#1243695/1243699)

-- NOHO:

-- Best Buy Mobile at Best Buy, 622 Broadway (DCA Lic.
#1189794/1189795)
About Best Buy Co., Inc.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) is an innovative Fortune 100 growth company that continually strives to create superior customer experiences. Through more than 930 retail stores across the United States and in Canada, our employees connect customers with technology and entertainment products and services that make life easier and more fun. We sell consumer electronics, home-office products, entertainment software, appliances and related services. A Minneapolis-based company, our operations include: Best Buy (BestBuy.com and BestBuy.ca), Future Shop (FutureShop.ca), Geek Squad (GeekSquad.com and GeekSquad.ca) and Magnolia Audio Video (Magnoliaav.com). We support our communities through employee volunteerism and grants from The Best Buy Children's Foundation.

About The Carphone Warehouse

The Carphone Warehouse Group plc is the largest mobile phone retailer in the world with 2,000 stores across 10 European markets. The company is committed to offering independent and expert advice on the widest range of the latest product plus unbeatable, after sales care.

In September 2006 The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy reached agreement on the terms of two new commercial initiatives to be introduced over the coming months: a standalone mobile retail business in the US market operating under the Best Buy Mobile brand, and a home computing customer service business in the UK under the Geek Squad brand. The combination of Best Buy’s unrivalled expertise in the US consumer electronics market with The Carphone Warehouse’s excellent track record in independent mobile phone retailing across ten European markets creates a strong skill base from which to make Best Buy Mobile a success. In a separate arrangement, the companies have signed an agreement to launch the Geek Squad in the UK, providing a range of enhanced customer support services to home computer users in 2007.

The Carphone Warehouse’s capital commitments during the trial periods for both Best Buy Mobile and The Geek Squad UK are low, and neither project is expected to have a material financial impact in the current financial year.

(1) Simmons Market Research Spring 2006 Adult Full Year Study

(2) All Best Buy Mobile stores are licensed by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs