Everybody loves gadgets. But shopping for them can be a journey into a hell of clueless salespeople flanked by 10-foot-high walls of planned obsolescence. Big-box retailer Best Buy knows this - so now, like Gap and Crate & Barrel, it's opening boutiques that market to narrower demographic niches. Here's what to expect from its three new concept stores. - Jason Daley
Studio D
Naperville, Illinois
Concept: A kinder, gentler place for Mom. Blond wood floors, mood lighting, and more women on staff.
Lure: Intensive classes on how to use gadgets.
Coming soon: Best Buy hasn't discussed any plans to roll out more Studio Ds but has already refocused 70 stores nationwide on serving women.
ESCAPE
Chicago, Illinois
Concept: European and Japanese electronics, games, and gadgets in a loft-like brick-and-metal space - with a coffee bar.
Lure: Two luxury boxes with plasma screens, seating for 10, and major videogame consoles.
Coming soon: Likely to be depoyed nationally.
Eq-Life
Richfield, Minnesota
Concept: A "wellness environment"; 18,000 square feet of spa-pharmacy-yoga studio plus electronics and beauty aids for baby boomers' sagging flesh.
Lure: Facial, manicure, and massage go for $175.
Coming soon: Two more EQs have opened in the Minneapolis area; spa junkies spy a trend in 2006.
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The Three Faces of Best Buy
