http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703376504575491533125103528.html Shoppers this Christmas can expect to see more smartphones, electronic readers and touch-screen computers in the most prominent store displays, underscoring a dramatic shift to powerful portable devices that is fast changing the face of consumer electronics retailing," Miguel Bustillo reports for The Wall Street Journal. "The new priorities are plainly evident in the changing strategy of Best Buy Co., the nation's largest electronics retailer by revenue, which is now morphing into a mobile gadget specialist after decades of promoting the latest in big-screen televisions, desktop computers and high-fidelity stereos.
"Best Buy, which reported a 61% jump in second quarter profit Tuesday despite flat sales at stores open at least 14 months, said it will showcase devices such as Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet... On Tuesday, Best Buy said it will expand iPad distribution to all of its 1,093 U.S. stores Sept. 26," Bustillo reports. "Best Buy's strong results for the three months ended Aug. 28 were due to tight expense controls, increased sales of cellphones and services such as connecting televisions with home networks, and a stock repurchase program that reduced total shares outstanding.The earnings also underscored the trends buffeting consumer electronics retailers heading into Christmas. Best Buy said smartphone sales continued to rise compared with a year ago, as did portable computer totals, buoyed by the iPad."
Bustillo reports that Best Buy Chief Executive Brian Dunn said in an interview that "internal estimates showed that the iPad had cannibalized sales from laptop PCs by as much as 50%."