Richfield Best Buy Store to Be Downsized; Ulta Moving In
Ulta, a beauty supply retailer, is reportedly taking over the remaining space.
After announcing it would close 50 U.S. stores Thursday, Richfield-based Best Buy will also downsize many remaining stores as part of its new "Connected Stores" format.
The Richfield location and the Shops at Lyndale is one of the stores slated for the change. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported beauty retailer, Ulta, would take over the vacated space and moving from its Southdale Mall location. A exact date for the move wasn't given.
The "Connected Stores" model is a redesign of the company's current big-box concept. Stores, like Richfield's, will be trimmed down and focus on portable electronics—such as tablets and e-readers—and feature a central knowledge desk where people can get things like wireless plans for cell phones. According to NPR, these services, along with warrantee sales, are major money makers for the company.
Spokeswoman Kelly Groehler confirmed that the retailer already has begun work to renovate the Richfield store, but declined to comment on the company's plans for its other remaining Minnesota stores, according to the business journal. Five standard Best Buy stores in Minnesota—in Edina, Hutchinson, Rogers, Brooklyn Center and Lakeville—have been named as Twin Cities closures by the fall.
The space reduction that Ulta will take over is roughly 20 percent of the existing store's space; both stores have signed new 10-year leases at the Richfield shopping mall.
The local company has had a tough year so far with downed profits, anaylists reporting it may be too late to survive and being named one of the most hated companies in America.
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Brie Shultz
3:38 pm on Saturday, March 31, 2012
If Best Buy is moving toward smaller stores, why close the already small store in Edina vs transitioning some of the larger big box stores into smaller ones?
Caitlin Burgess
4:09 pm on Saturday, March 31, 2012
You bring up a very good point Brie and honestly, before the actual names of the stores were released I had a feeling the Edina one would be on the chopping block. However, its also about cutting $800 million in costs, which, of course, means cutting back staff and locations for now. But yes, given the other location's small space, it makes sense. However, Richfield is a flagship store that brings in much more traffic.