Best Buy investors spooked by weak earnings

Best Buy investors spooked by weak earningsThe shares of Best Buy Co.  Inc fell significantly on Thursday after the company said that its revenues fell during the holiday period this year.

Investors were disappointed with the sales as they were expectinmg an increase in the holiday season sale for the company.  The retailer said that its U. S. sales, those at stores and online operations open at least 14 months, fell 0.9 percent compared to a market expectation of an increase of 0.7 percent.

The figures were disappointment for the company's management, who were expecting increased sales during this holiday shopping season.  The company has said it expects to record similar holiday sales from 2012.

Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly has adopted an aggressive strategy to increase its market share inorder to better compete with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon. com Inc.  The retailer had benefitted from strong product mix, better television sales and the introduction of the Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One video game consoles.

However, the company recorded a fall in comparable sales.