Samsung says it will launch branded stores at 1,400 Best Buy locations by this summer. Best Buy employees will help customers purchase and activate Samsung devices, but will not service broken phones. So while Samsung hopes to attract customers in the same way that Apple does with its ever-crowded retail stores, it will be missing the equivalent of the Genius Bar.
Shares of Best Buy are up more than 12% on today’s news. This is welcome news for the big-box retailer, which has seen its business hit hard by online retailers during the past several years.
The kiosks will be called Samsung Experience stores, and Samsung says the rollout should be complete by June. The company said in a statement that its goal is to help ensure that customers can learn “how to leverage their mobile devices across our ecosystem of consumer electronics.” The mini-stores will offer cameras and laptops as well as smartphones and tablets.
Samsung, which reported sales of $17.8 billion last year, is a huge conglomerate that sells many standard household appliances in addition to mobile devices. Best Buy sells Samsung vacuum cleaners and washing machines, but these will probably be nowhere near the sleek Samsung Experience stores.
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