Online children’s products retailer Kiddicare has bought 10 out of the 11 out-of-town stores vacated by US electronics specialist Best Buy, it has been revealed.
Best Buy UK, a joint venture with Carphone Warehouse, ceased trading earlier this month having failed to make sufficient headway in the British market. Kiddicare is currently looking to establish a bricks-and-mortar presence following its £70m takeover by Morrisons last year.
“These 10 flagship stores will put Kiddicare within easy driving distance of nearly a third of the UK population,” said Kiddicare chief executive Scott Weavers-Wright. “As well as being fantastic destination superstores for families across the country, they are the ideal platform for Kiddicare.com to lead the baby market.”
The revamped Kiddicare outlets are expected to open in the autumn, with the cost of their conversion estimated at around £15m. Kiddicare currently has just the one physical outlet, a former B&Q store at Derby’s Kingsway Retail Park.
Best Buy UK’s retreat from the British market came just 18 months after its first store opened at the Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex. The firm made a loss of £62.2m during the 2011 fiscal year.
