Sales were not as strong as forecast at electronics retailer Best Buy ( BBY ) in the frenzied shopping days leading up to Christmas, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Revenue during the month of December was $8.4 billion, according to the Richfield, Minnesota -based company. But stores that have been open for more than 14 months, as well as websites and additional venues, saw sales wane 1.2 percent.
The flow of customers to stores "was lower than expected until the last week before Christmas, which resulted in December revenue that was slightly lower than our expectations," chief executive Brian Dunn said.
Considered the biggest of the U.S.' consumer electronics chains, Best Buy is feeling the pinch from Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and discount stores. In December, Best Buy's third quarter reports demonstrated the increased competition prompted price reductions that generated minimal growth in revenue yet sharp profit drops. Profit fell 29 percent during the July-to-September period.
The company is working on enhancing its online sales capacities while also tapering retail space as part of a drive to confront sales reductions and increasing competition.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
