Best Buy may be retreating to its homeland with a bloody nose, but it could yet ruin Dixons Retail's margins this Christmas before it turns off the lights.

The American electronics retailer's costly flirtation with UK consumers is coming to an end and the firm admitted last month that one of the reasons why its entry had not worked was due to arch retail rival Dixons upping its game.

But with the closing down sale starting this weekend, Best Buy is firing what look like rubber bullets at Dixons' pressured bottom line rather than a explosive margin mine.

The firm is offering up to 10 per cent off big ticket items including TVs, computing hardware and white box goods, a quarter off networking and storage and 50 per cent off DVDs, CDs and Blu-ray disks.

In a letter to "customers, vendors, suppliers and friends", the US retailer confirmed it is pulling out on 15 January.

"We are still committed to making sure your needs are well served up until our closing and beyond," UK managing director Steve Jensen said in the note. ®