$410M Best Buy Deal Includes 14 Showrooms

LOS ANGELES-Best Buy Co. has closed on its $410-million acquisition of Torrance-based Pacific Sales Kitchen and Bath Centers Inc., including the 14 Pacific Sales showrooms in the region. The Minneapolis-based retailer will operate the Pacific Sales chain, which sells high-end home improvement products, as a wholly owned subsidiary.Pacific Sales Kitchen and Bath Centers Inc., formerly a privately owned retailer, operates its 14 showrooms in locations throughout Southern California. Besides operating the existing showrooms, Best Buy plans to expand Pacific Sales through new store openings, although the company has yet to announce further details of the real estate side of the anticipated expansion.When the deal was first announced last year, Brian Dunn, now president and COO of Best Buy, said that the company would expand the number of Pacific Sales stores utilizing the existing store format. "We expect to expand the number of stores in order to capitalize on the rapidly growing high-end segment of the US appliance market," Dunn says.The acquisition of the showroom operation by Best Buy underscores the growing interest in showroom properties in Southern California by retailers who either own or rent the spaces. A few developers have even launched projects consisting almost entirely of showroom space to capitalize on the trend.Like many of the other showroom operators, Pacific Sales targets builders and contractors in addition to the general public. Its merchandise includes kitchen appliances, plumbing fixtures, home furnishings, televisions and other related home entertainment products.Pacific Sales was founded in 1960. Its showroom properties include locations in Brea, Burbank, Carlsbad, Camarillo, Cerritos, Corona, Irvine, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Mirage, San Dimas, San Juan Capistrano, Temecula, Torrance and Woodland Hills.