Best Buy names the 50 stores to close — includes 19 in 3 states

Following its announcement late last month outlining plans to close 50 of its “big box” stores across the US, electronics retail chain Best Buy issued a statement on Saturday revealing the specific stores facing closure.

Of the 50 stores, two (in Kansas City, MO and Scottsdale, AZ) have already been shut down while employees at a further six were notified late last month that their stores would also be closing.

Best Buy listed details of the remaining 42 stores — located across 22 states — which are to finish trading. Three states — California, Illinois and Minnesota — are home to 19 of the stores.

In a statement on its website, the company said, “This was not an easy decision to make. We chose these stores carefully, and are working to ensure the impact to our employees will be as minimal as possible, while serving all customers in a convenient and satisfying way. But we also recognize the impact this news has on the people who deserve respect for the contributions they have made to our business.”

It continued: “We will be working to help these employees find other positions inside Best Buy. If they don’t find new positions, or if they choose not to work at a different location, a transition including severance packages will be available.”

The company said it expected most of the stores to be closed by May 12, adding, “Best Buy continues to have additional retail store locations – big boxes and standalone Best Buy Mobile stores – for customers to choose from in these affected locations.”

The bricks-and-mortar retailer has been struggling in recent years as more and more people turn to online shopping using e-commerce sites like Amazon and eBay. Indeed, Best Buy’s stores serve as little more than showrooms for some shoppers, who check out the product there first before hopping online to make a purchase — usually at a better price thanks to the low-cost overheads enjoyed by the online stores.

The signs for Best Buy haven’t been good for a while now, with the company reporting a damaging $1.7 billion loss for the first three months of 2012. That came a year after announcing profits of $651 million — a worrying turnaround in the space of just 12 months.

And only last week Brian Dunn resigned as CEO of the company after three years in charge. The company’s board is currently searching for a replacement, with whoever takes charge facing the tough challenge of trying to find a way to combat online retailers and get the company back in the black.

The full list of closed stores is below:

Locations of 2012 U.S. Best Buy store closings