Best Buy, the world's largest electronics retailer, has sent a shockwave through the troubled European market with its plans to bring its stores to the Continent.

The yellow ticket logo of the US group will take on brands such as Germany's MediaMarkt, the UK's Currys and Comet and France's Fnac. The US retailer, which had $40bn in revenues last year, is planning to roll into town at a time when the incumbents are struggling with depressed margins, a growing competitive threat from supermarkets and online rivals and worries over consumer spending.