Best Buy reported a 16% jump in domestic online sales for the first quarter which ended May 4 compared to last year’s first quarter. According to president and CEO Hubert Joly, the company continues to make substantial progress with its Renew Blue priorities, according to a press release on BestBuy.com.
Domestic online revenue of $498 million; increased by 7.1% since last year. Excluding the additional week last year, the 16% jump was due to increased traffic and higher conversion across the electronic chain’s multiple online platforms, according to the press release.
Joly said comparable domestic store sales were down 1.1% as a result of the Super Bowl shifting into last year’s fourth quarter as a well as the electronic chain’s decision to reduce sales in certain non-core businesses, according to the press release. Domestic comparable store sales were flat for the quarter despite no major product launches and late deliveries in the smartphone category.
Domestic gross profit rate was 23.4% versus 25.3% last year. The 190 basis point decline was driven by a greater investment in price competitiveness including higher promotional activity in mobile and computing, higher inventory shrinkage, and increased product warranty-related costs, according to the press release.
In April, the company entered into an agreement to sell 50% interest in Best Buy Europe, according to Multichannel Merchant. The Q1 FY14 loss per share from discontinued operations was $0.53 versus a loss per share of $0.03 last year, according to the press release.