Best Buy Mobile Unveils New "Mobile Life" Store

Best Buy Mobile tests new mall-based stores to focus on a key
customer need: getting all of their mobile technology to work together
MINNEAPOLIS--(Business Wire)--
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) today announced it is launching
unique, stand-alone stores in malls that aim to help customers get
more from their mobile lives. The new, larger Best Buy Mobile stores
will help customers navigate the wireless landscape by offering
unprecedented choice of a full range of mobile devices including
phones, laptops, and other handhelds as well as teaching customers how
the devices work together.

The stores target mall shoppers that don't traditionally shop at
Best Buy's big-box stores: women and younger shoppers; so-called
"tweens" and teenagers. Currently, this audience shops multiple
retailers for many of their products. Through the new store format,
Best Buy Mobile will simplify their shopping experience, bringing all
of the products as well as the service plans and accessories needed
for their mobile lifestyle under one roof.

"The new Best Buy Mobile stores are based on one simple idea:
technology is better when it works together," said Shawn Score,
president of Best Buy Mobile. "Today, life happens on the go. On good
days, technology helps. On bad days, the gadgets don't work. This
store is designed to help people get more from their mobile life."

The new Best Buy Mobile store incorporates:

-- A specialized assortment of mobile products featuring mobile
phones, ultra-portable notebook computers, mobile media
devices and accessories

-- Knowledgeable, non-commissioned associates including Geek
Squad agents

-- Best Buy Mobile's Walk-Out-Working(TM) program which provides
multimedia and smart-phone set up

-- Straight-forward pricing, including no rebates

-- Product repairs, loaner phones, and additional services that
keep the technologies up and running

At 3,000 square feet, the new Best Buy Mobile stores are double
the size of the original stand-alone Best Buy Mobile stores, yet not
as large as traditional Best Buy stores, which average about 40,000
square feet. The stores offer consumers impartial, informed advice in
a boutique-like setting.

On tap at the new stores are "Experience Zones;" designated areas
for customers to interact with the products and learn how they work
with each other as well as etching machines that "tattoo" mobile
devices with personalized messages and/or photos. Dedicated "kids
zones" will give shoppers a nearby place to drop off the kids yet
still keep an eye on them while they shop. A Geek Squad Precinct will
be located within each store for all services needs.

Stores will launch in three mall locations this month:

-- The Mall of America in Bloomington, MN (Oct. 17)

-- Fair Oaks Mall, in Fairfax, Va. (Oct. 17)

-- Woodfield Mall, in Schaumburg, Ill. (Oct. 31)

Best Buy is uniquely positioned to help its mobile phone
customers. Over the last two years, Best Buy has converted special
sections of its 965 U.S. stores to Best Buy Mobile stores as well as
launched more than 30 stand-alone Best Buy Mobile stores. Customers
have responded positively to the new mobile phone experience. The
conversion of the Best Buy Mobile store-within-a-store concept drove a
strong double-digit gain in U.S. mobile phone connections during the
second quarter and Best Buy also experienced a nearly triple-digit
gain in comparable store sales of mobile phones and accessories.

Best Buy Mobile was created as a joint venture with leading U.K.
mobile retailer The Carphone Warehouse Group (CPW) in 2006. The stores
feature one of the largest selections of carriers, handsets and
accessories available anywhere, as well as a highly-trained staff to
help customers make the most of their mobile phones.

About Best Buy Co., Inc.

With operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China,
Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment
products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. The
Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more
than $40 billion annual revenue and includes brands such as Best Buy,
Audiovisions, The Carphone Warehouse, Future Shop, Geek Squad, Jiangsu
Five Star, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales Kitchen and
Bath Centers, The Phone House and Speakeasy. Approximately 165,000
employees apply their talents to help bring the benefits of these
brands to life for customers through retail locations, multiple
call centers and Web sites, in-home solutions, product delivery
and activities in our communities. Community partnership is central to
the way we do business at Best Buy. In fiscal 2008, we donated a
combined $31.8 million to improve the vitality of the communities
where our employees and customers live and work. For more information
about Best Buy, visit www.bestbuyinc.com.

About The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC

The Carphone Warehouse is Europe's largest independent retailer of
mobile phones and related services, with over 2,400 stores across nine
countries. Our proposition is to offer customers impartial advice
across the widest range of handsets, networks and tariffs in the
market. We trade as The Carphone Warehouse in the U.K. and Ireland,
and as Phone House in our other European markets. In addition, under
the TalkTalk and AOL brands we are a leading provider of residential
telecoms services in the U.K., with over 2.7 million broadband
customers and 2.7 million voice customers. The business was founded in
1989 by CEO Charles Dunstone.

Media Contact:
Kara McClain, 404-995-4531
Porter Novelli
Kara.mcclain@porternovelli.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008