Best Buy Co has closed its office in Beijing and doesn't plan to open stores there in the near future, the electronics retailer said yesterday.

"The office was in charge of purchasing but we felt it was no longer necessary, and the shutdown can help raise our efficiency," said Zhang Zhengyi, a public relations official with Best Buy Shanghai.

Best Buy, the biggest electronics retailer in the United States, has opened just one store in China since tapping into the Chinese market in 2003 and planned to open five to eight stores next year across the country.

"The closure of the office won't prevent us from achieving the target," Zhang said. "We focus on quality rather than the expansion speed, and the profit of the Shanghai outlet is among the top 50 outlets of Best Buy.

"Shanghai is still the key market for Best Buy's development, and an outlet in Zhongshan Park area will open this year," Zhang said.

The company bought a majority stake in Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co in 2006 and now controls more than 159 Five Star stores, mainly in eastern China.

Earlier reports said the retailer aimed to increase the number of its stores in China by about 20 percent to 193 by next February.

Robert Willett, chief executive officer of Best Buy International, denied earlier that the company was in talks with Gome Electrical Appliance Holdings Ltd, China's largest appliance retailer, on a possible share swap.

Competition has escalated in recent years as China's two major appliance retailers sped up expansion.

Gome merged with China Paradise Electronics and gained control of Dazhong Electrical Appliances and Sanlian Commerce Co, while Suning Appliance has about 700 outlets and plans about 200 more by the end of this year.

(Shanghai Daily March 6, 2008)