Following on yesterday's news that Target will begin carrying the iPhone on November 7th, Bloomberg reports that Best Buy will expand distribution of the iPad to its standalone Best Buy Mobile stores on that same day.
Best Buy, which began selling the iPad in its regular stores in April, is expanding distribution of the touch-screen device as it opens more mobile stores before the holidays.
The Richfield, Minnesota-based company plans to open 23 mobile stores before the Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 25, giving it a total of 158, Jeff Haydock, a Best Buy spokesman, said today in a telephone interview.
Best Buy was a launch partner for the iPad, offering the device in approximately two-thirds of the company's 1,000 U.S. stores as the Wi-Fi models debuted in early April. The company extended distribution to all Best Buy stores in late September.
A further expansion to its Best Buy Mobile stores would appear to open up the iPad to new potential customers given Best Buy's strategy of opening the stores in shopping malls where full-size Best Buy locations are not feasible. While some Best Buy Mobile stores are located in malls that already offer a Apple retail store, many are not and in many cases those Best Buy Mobile stores would be the first retailer in those malls to carry the iPad.
