Ridgedale Center is getting a lot of love these days.
Not only is a new Nordstrom department store opening there later this week to be followed soon by a host of other new stores, but it will also be the site of an experiment by Best Buy to open mini-shops inside of Macy's department stores.The Ridgedale Macy's, of course, was recently remodeled, too.
The nation's largest electronics chain announced earlier this month that it would open 10 licensed mini-stores inside of Macy's department stores in early November. The 300-square foot spaces will be staffed by Best Buy employees and will sell Samsung smartphones and tablets as well as accessories such as speakers and headphones. But the company said at the time it was still finalizing locations.
The fact that Ridgedale will be one of those test locations surfaced on the Minnetonka city council's agenda for tonight. According to the city document, Best Buy's mini-shop will be a bit bigger at 400 square feet and will also include a trade-in program (likely for video games), which is why Best Buy is applying for a secondhand dealer license from the city.
The Ridgedale location for this test is an interesting choice. The mall already has a Best Buy Mobile store, which is one of those smaller stores focused on cell phones. And there's a full-size big box Best Buy less than a mile away from the mall. So with a decent presence in the area, Best Buy will probably be looking to see if the test brings it new shoppers -- more female shoppers perhaps? -- than it already gets at those other stores.
A Best Buy spokeswoman confirmed that Ridgedale is one of the locations for the 10-store test, but she didn't have any other details on other locations.
