Best Buy Withdraws from Beijing

News broke Thursday that Best Buy (BBY) has withdrawn from the Beijing market and permanently closed its office in China's capital city.

According to reports, Best Buy China dissolved the company's Beijing office at China World Trade Center Office Building last week. Zhang Zhenyi, a representative from Best Buy China, said that withdrawing from the Beijing market was a result of the company's internal adjustment, and the company had no plan of opening stores in Beijing in the coming months. Best Buy opened the Beijing office in 2006 with responsibilities for choosing locations for the company's new stores and sourcing home appliances and electronics.

Best Buy entered China in 2003 amid great fanfare with the purpose of battling Chinese domestic home appliance and electronics retailers. But it has encountered many difficulties in opening stores around the country. The scheduled opening of its second store in Shanghai has long been suspended.