Photo: Best Buy
Best Buy has credited store-within-a-store concepts as playing an important role in the chain’s turnaround efforts. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in Best Buy’s relationship with Samsung, which operates its Experience shops inside every one of the retailer’s stores across the U.S. It is precisely the strength of the relationship between the two that has raised questions whether Samsung’s recent recall/discontinuation of its entire Galaxy Note 7 smartphone line and another recall of 2.8 million washing machines will hurt Best Buy’s business heading into the holidays.
There’s no doubt the recalls have hurt Samsung’s brand reputation and negatively affected its business results. A recent post by Samsung, reported by TechCrunch, included a message of apology to its customers for the Galaxy Note 7, which was recalled and then taken off the market due to incidents of lithium-ion batteries within the devices catching fire. No mention was made of the washer recall and reports of the tops of machines “exploding” off leading to 14 injury incidents to date.
“Samsung has a long heritage of innovation and we have shown that we can and will learn from our mistakes,” the note read. “While we are always looking to innovate and create the next generation of great consumer technology, safety will remain our top priority. We will invest to better serve your needs through enhanced customer care and assurance.”
Best Buy began adding Samsung Experience shops within its stores back in 2013. The shops, which typically take up about 460-square-feet inside Best Buy stores, focus primarily on mobile devices.
While Best Buy does not break out the contribution of Samsung Experience shops, CEO Joly has credited the store-within-a-store strategy as one of the pillars on the company’s turnaround plan.
"Not only do we showcase the best of what our vendors offer, we’re also benefiting from the material investments that several of the world’s leading technology companies are making in our stores," Mr. Joly told analysts last year. "With these partnerships, we’re able to bring to life interactive technology experiences that again make the Best Buy operating model more relevant for customers."
- Samsung’s woes might pull down Best Buy – San Francisco Chronicle
- Will the Galaxy Note 7 snafu send Samsung up in flames? – RetailWire
- Samsung is really, really sorry about the Galaxy Note 7 and plans to ‘do better’ – TechCrunch
- Will Samsung threaten Apple’s retail dominance? – RetailWire
- Best Buy is on a roll – RetailWire