Best Buy US store president leaves

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Best Buy's president of U.S. retail stores is leaving the company and his duties will be taken over by the electronics retailer's human resources officer.

The company said Shawn Score, 48, is retiring after a 29-year run at the company. He served a variety of rolls, including oversight of Best Buy mobile standalone stores. He became head of all U.S. retail stores in January 2013.

Best Buy confirmed the change, first reported in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Shari Ballard will take over his duties. A 21-year veteran of the company, she was named chief human resources officer in 2013. Before that, she worked in a variety of roles, including executive vice president of retail channel management and president of Americas and executive vice president for Best Buy business in the United States and Mexico.

Best Buy brought in CEO Hubert Joly almost two years ago to lead a turnaround. The Minneapolis electronics store was almost crippled by online competition, notably from Amazon.com, as well as discounters like Wal-Mart. Under Joly, the company has revamped its merchandise and store layout, ramped up employee training and cut costs. Best Buy also introduced shop-within-shops — dedicated store space and signage for top brands like Apple, Samsung and Microsoft.

In its most quarter, the company returned to a profit and topped Wall Street expectations.

The company says it gained market share during the quarter. But revenue in stores open at least 14 months, a key retail metric, fell 1.2 percent in the U.S. during the quarter, which includes the key holiday season. Total revenue fell 3 percent to $14.47 billion.

Shares fell $1.13, or 4.4 percent to $24.57 in afternoon trading. There was a broader sell-off taking place among competitors as well Tuesday. The stock has slid about 37 percent this year.

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