Samsung Will Open More Than 1,400 Mini Stores Inside Best Buy Locations
by Brent Dirks
April 4, 2013
The Apple mini stores inside many Best Buy locations across the United States are about to get some company.
Samsung has announced that it will open more than 1,400 Samsung Experience Shops at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile specialty stores. The rollout will begin this month and be completed by early summer.
The stores will vary in size, but the largest will be around 460 square feet. Some locations will even have Best Buy employees and “Samsung Experience Consultants” assisting customers with mobile phone purchases and activation. The consultants will also offer product demonstrations, account setup, warranty registration, and post-purchase support.
And while the concept unsurprisingly sounds like an Apple Store, a Samsung official told The New York Times that the shops aren’t trying to compete with Apple.
“At the heart of who we are, this is about responding to consumer needs and requests and ensure they’re delighted and empowered and happy with their choice of Samsung as a brand,” Ketrina Dunagan, vice president for retail marketing, said in an interview.That does seem a little hard to believe. Instead of building its own stores, it is much more cost effective for Samsung to partner with the established retailer. Now, if Samsung can get consumers to actually shop at Best Buy ...
