Best Buy is closing its store in Apple Valley

Best Buy is closing its store in Apple Valley, one of 15 to 20 stores the electronics giant is expecting to close in the U.S. this year.

Its last day of business will be March 2.

As store leases come up for renewal, the Richfield-based retailer is reviewing whether to extend them, especially as more of its sales have shifted online. Last year, it closed about 24 locations, including a store in Shakopee.

"Over the past five years, we have closed approximately 100 Best Buy stores, which is a 10 percent decline in store count during that timeframe," CEO Corie Barry told analysts on a conference call last fall. "We expect to close roughly 15 to 20 stores per year in the near term."

Best Buy has about 960 stores in the U.S., including about 900 of its traditional big-box stores.

Last year, it turned its Blaine store into an outlet location that sells discounted and open-box merchandise. It now has about 20 of such outlet stores nationwide, including one in Eden Prairie.

Once the Apple Valley store closes, Best Buy will have a dozen stores in the Twin Cities.

The retailer is also planning to relocate its Burnsville store.

But in Canada, Best Buy is adding more stores. Last month, it announced a strategic partnership to rebrand and retool about 165 stores, currently called the Source, to Best Buy Express stores later this year. It is partnering with telecommunications services company Bell Canada, which operated the Source stores, on the effort.