http://www.animenews.biz/best-buy-to-discontinue-anime-sales-in-stores-moving-sales-online-696/
Best Buy to Discontinue Anime Sales In Stores, Moving Sales OnlineWritten by Huraberto Saabedra on January 16, 2009Anime, DVD, Funimation, Geneon, Industry, RetailAnimeNews.biz can confirm that Best Buy will discontinue sales of anime titles across the entire Best Buy store chain by Fall of this year, with sales of titles from distributors moving to its online storefront as reports had picked up momentum in recent weeks that the company was conducting massive stock pulls and contractions of its anime sections, with some stores eliminating the section altogether depending on the size of the store and market.
Retail sales of anime have always been a mixed bag for distributors and retailers, as specialty retailers such as MusicLand have been falling by the wayside due to slowing sales of CRAB, DVRAB and other entertainment product along with the loss of shelf space since 2004 as more and more people move to online shopping and digital distribution along with cutting back entertainment spending further due to the economic slowdown.
Adding to the problem is that major distributors such as Viz, Bandai and Funimation have relied heavily on Best Buy for retail sales to the point that direct sellers such as The Right Stuf International, Animenation, and Robert