Best Buy has trademarked the name of defunct electricals retailer Rumbelows but the brand will not be used by the US giant, which will open its first big box store in this country in the spring.

There had been speculation that Best Buy might use the Rumbelows brand as part of its assault on the UK market in a bid to take advantage of consumer nostalgia associated with the brand.

However, a Best Buy spokeswoman said: “This particular trademark was considered alongside a wide range of options for research and analysis reasons and we have no intention of using it for any other purpose.”

Rumbelows collapsed and disappeared from UK high streets in the mid 1990s.