HomeMy WebLinkAboutBEST BUY EXPANSION MAJOR AMENDMENT AND REPLAT - 29 92B - MEDIA - PROJECT (2)ROBERT BAUN
The Goloradoan Demand for digital electronics spurs
The
Best Buy Co., the nation's
largest consumer electronics
chain, plans to grab a larger
chunk'of the Northern Colorado
market.
The Minnesota -based chain
wants to expand its Existing
store, 4040 S. College Ave., by 50
percent; the new" size would be
42,769 square feet, compared
with 28,521 square feet today. '
Best Buy ,opened the, Fort
Collins store in 1992, but consid-
ers the current size outdated.
Best Buy's newest stores cover
about 45,000 square feet.
Last fall, the company consid-
ered tearing down its, existing
store and building.a new 48,000-
square-foot building next door.
Those plans were scrapped, but
company officials were not avail-
able to explain the change of
heart.
Bigger stores are necessary to
accommodate demand for hot
products such as DVD players
and digital cameras, said Connie
Stelter, a spokeswoman from
Best Buy headquarters.
"Anything digital is popular,"
she said. "Everything is going
from analog to digital, and people
are making that conversion. So
they have a reason to shop and
update that."
Sales of DVD movie players, for
instance, increased 370 percent
in 1999 over 1998, according to
Best Buy pto ex and local
company's move
the Consumer Electronics Associ-
ation.
International Data Corp., a re-
search firm, said 4.7 million digi-
tal cameras were sold worldwide
last year; unit sales should in-
crease almost fivefold to 22 mil-
lion by 2003.
Best Buy's new prototype,
stores also include interactive
displays that allow customers to
try out products in the store.
Best Buy has not announced a--.
timetable for the Fort Collins ex-
pansion, which is subject to ap-
proval by city officials.
Evidently, the company is itch
ing to get started. Best Buy has,
already applied for a buil
permit, estimating $3 million in`
construction costs.
Best Buy, which reported $1Y
billion in sales in 1998, is growing
fast. In the past six months, the
company grew from 322 stores to
354 stores. Including Fort Collins}9
Best Buy has eight stores in Col-
orado. �+
store