BUSINESS BRIEFS
Best Buy reports unexpected 10% rise in sales for 4th quarter
Advertiser News Services
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CHICAGO — Consumers snapped up surprising numbers of flat-screen televisions, laptops, digital cameras and cell phones during the fourth quarter, helping Best Buy Co. Inc. boost sales by 10 percent, the company reported yesterday.
The quarter's sales were strongest in February, and the world's largest consumer electronics retailer said same-store sales might have been even better if a plan to scale back inventory hadn't left some stores short of TVs and digital cameras shoppers were seeking.
"We were surprised with demand," Chief Operating Officer Brian Dunn, who is set to become chief executive this summer, said yesterday. "We know we left some sales on the table in January and February."
Despite the revenue growth, the world's largest consumer electronics chain said its profit sank 23 percent — mostly because of one-time charges — for the three months that ended Feb. 28.
Executives promised to take advantage of the liquidation of their closest competitor to attract new customers who used to shop exclusively at the now-defunct Circuit City Stores Inc.
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Global airline passenger traffic fell 10 percent last month, the steepest decline since the recession began, led by a plunge in long-haul travel.The decline, gathering pace from a 5.6 percent fall in year-on-year traffic in January, included a 12.8 percent reduction in passengers flown by Asia-Pacific carriers.
There was a 12 percent drop among North American airlines, the International Air Transport Association said today in a statement.
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