DOZENS of local jobs are under threat today after Carphone Warehouse announced its Hedge End Best Buy store is to close.

The company has launched a consultation about closing its 11 UK shops as it shifts its focus to selling more electronics goods through its Carphone Warehouse outlets.

Carphone hopes to find the ''large majority'' of the 1,100 staff roles elsewhere within the organisation.

Best Buy UK opened its so-called ''big box'' stores across the South East and Midlands in a bid to shake up the electronics market with cheaper prices and better customer service.

Its Hedge End store opened 18 months ago, creating 100 jobs. Hundreds queued for the opening, tightly clutching coloured tickets which guaranteed them the best bargains in store.

But consumer electronics has been one of the hardest-hit sectors during the downturn as the squeeze on household incomes has seen shoppers turn their backs on perceived luxury items.

The company said the market had suffered as a result of the economic downturn, online competition and the growth of new products, such as smartphones and tablet computers.

Best Buy Europe was formed in 2008 when Best Buy paid £1.1bn to buy a 50 per cent stake in Carphone Warehouse's retail division.

Chief executive Andrew Harrison said: ''The technology world has changed substantially since 2008 and we are confident we will best serve our customers by investing in a single brand and format rather than two.''

Best Buy made a loss of £62 million in its first year in the UK. It made operating losses of £47 million in the six months to September 30, up from £29 million in the previous half-year, Carphone revealed today.

It expects further losses of between £25 million and £30 million before the shops are closed by the end of March.

The cost of closing the stores will be up to £75 million.

Carphone Warehouse has been focussing on selling more electronics such as tablet computers and smartphones at its 805 stores in the UK, particular at those under its Wireless World format.