Samsung Decides to Build Its Own Stores — Inside Best Buy
Inside Best Buy — Samsung is battling Apple on many fronts, and retail stores are no exception. — However, this time the company has opted not to follow the same path as its rival. Whereas Apple opened its own chain of stores …
Context & Ripple Effects
Best Buy had already been reshaping its presentation around Apple’s retail cues, while its iPhone sales volume made it an important Apple outlet. Samsung’s planned Best Buy store rollout for the Galaxy S4 launch turns that same retail footprint into a branded Samsung channel rather than a stand-alone chain.
The move also follows Samsung’s push to build a stronger software presence in Silicon Valley and New York. It gives Samsung a place to frame devices and software together at the point of sale, using Best Buy’s existing stores.
First-order effects
- Samsung gains dedicated branded selling space inside Best Buy, with more control over how shoppers encounter its devices than a conventional multibrand display permits.
- Best Buy commits store space and sales attention to Samsung as the Galaxy S4 approaches, while retaining the traffic and transaction inside its own network.
Second-order effects
- Apple and Samsung’s competition shifts further onto Best Buy’s floor: Samsung’s branded area contests the advantage Apple already held through Best Buy’s large iPhone sales presence.
- Best Buy becomes a more consequential merchandising gatekeeper for handset makers, because branded in-store areas offer a middle path between ordinary shelf placement and funding a separate retail chain.
Third-order effects
- If other device makers adopt the format, consumer-electronics retail may split into retailer-operated stores that host manufacturer-controlled experiences, concentrating influence in the chains that can supply national floor space.
The trend: Device makers are seeking tighter control of retail presentation while using established retailers’ locations instead of building every customer touchpoint themselves.