Other features of eq-life, which comes from "equilibrium" and "lifestyle," will include a spa salon and a drug store. PrairieStone Pharmacy and Park Nicollet Health Services are partners in the venture.

Best Buy wants to see if it can crack into an estimated $300-billion annual health-and-wellness retailing industry spread across drug stores, grocery stores, and sporting goods and health stores. Best Buy's eq-life concept combines several lifestyle elements, including nutritional supplements, exercise merchandise, personal-care products, some consumer electronics and information on health-related topics.

Although the eq-life concept is designed to serve all adults, company officials expect the test store's primary patrons will be women who are 35 and older, work outside the home, have families and are stressed for time.Best Buy, whose electronics stores appeal especially to young, male shoppers, hopes to find ways to appeal to middle-aged women. Over the summer, Best Buy opened a concept store in the Chicago suburb of Naperville called Studio D, which caters its electronics offerings and store decor to women, including sales associates to explain how to use the devices.Best Buy operates more than 750 stores in the US and Canada.