EnElectronics retailer Best Buy has decided to furlough around 51,000 staff in response to a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports. While Best Buy’s sales grew by 4% year over year in Q1 according to the company, there’s been a 4.6% slump in sales by appliance and electronics retailers more broadly, Panjiva’s analysis of official data shows. That’s largely been the result of a 16.2% slump in March compared to 7.0% for all retail sales.
Source: Panjiva
Best Buy may already have been anticipating a slowdown in demand, as well as experiencing a substantial disruption to supplies from China as a result of the coronavirus disruptions there. Panjiva’s data shows there was a 28.9% year over year slide in U.S. seaborne imports linked to Best Buy in March, including a 60.2% slump in shipments from China.
That was offset by a 71.3% jump in shipments from Asia excluding China. The latter has been led by a jump in shipments of white goods including refrigerators / freezers and stoves / microwaves. The firm may also have scaled up its shipments via other modes including from Mexico.
Source: Panjiva
