Report: Best Buy to open 40 mobile-phone stores

Minneapolis Best Buy Co. aims to open 40 standalone mobile-phone stores in fiscal 2009, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Brian Dunn, who formally took over as chief executive from retiring Brad Anderson on Wednesday, said the company believes it can quintuple its share of the U.S. mobile-phone market to 15%, the report said. He did not say when the company expects to achieve the goal.

Shoppers are responding well to the chains’ new Best Buy Mobile displays, which showcase mobile-phone brands in one central location, Dunn said.

Earlier this year, company executives had said they hoped to capture 10% of the U.S. market within a few years; the company now has about 3%. Best Buy’s European partner, Carphone Warehouse, reportedly has an 11% share in Europe.