US electronics retailer Best Buy is considering withdrawing from China.

The retailer has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to advise it on options including a possible sale of its business there.

Best Buy started operating in China in 2006, running Best Buy Mobile and Five Star branded stores. However, it failed to dent competition from rivals including Suning and Gome, leading it to shut down some large-format stores under its own brand, trimming its network to around 190 under the local Five Star banner.

Online competition is continuously hurting its sales in China, it says.

Last year, it sold its 50 per cent interest in its European venture Carphone Warehouse Group to Carphone Warehouse for around $775 million.

Best Buy says exiting China will enable it to focus on its domestic business. The company declined to give further details about the plan.