Samsung Mini-Stores Coming To A Best Buy Near You

One day after Best Buy announced it was pulling the plug on its Geek Squad experiment with Target, comes news that the electronics retailer is partnering with another big brand.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that Samsung will begin opening up mini-stores inside Best Buy outlets nationwide, with the first popping up by the end of June.

It’s big move for Samsung, which seeks to knock the iPhone and iPad off the top of the U.S. smartphone/tablet marketplace. The manufacturer will suddenly have 1,400 retail locations dedicated to its products, rather than simply having all of its products scattered about a store in various sections.

The NY Times describes the mini-stores:

Called a Samsung Experience Shop, each store will be an entire section at Best Buy devoted to showcasing Samsung smartphones, tablets, cameras, laptops, televisions and accessories. It will also include customer support for Samsung products, similar to the Genius Bar at Apple stores.

“Samsung has been delivering the latest innovation across the consumer electronics category for some time,” said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America in a statement. “With the Samsung Experience Shops, we are ensuring consumers get the most of that innovation by learning how to leverage their mobile devices across our ecosystem of consumer electronics. Consumers will have one place to not only explore and learn about our full portfolio of mobile products, but also the support of a Samsung expert to help with selecting and servicing them. This will truly be a unique mobile shopping experience.”

For Best Buy, these stores — which will vary in size but max out around 460 square feet — helps to reduce its retail footprint without having to find smaller locations, though per the NY Times article, the mini-stores will still be staffed by Best Buy employees.

“We look forward to showcasing Samsung products in the Samsung Experience Shop in all Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile locations. This is part of our Renew Blue transformation strategy – working closely with vendor partners to innovate and drive value, while also updating our stores to focus on growing and profitable categories,” said Shawn Score, head of U.S. Retail for Best Buy. “Our promise to our customers is simple: we’re committed to providing the best value, service and selection. Our partnership with Samsung on the Samsung Experience Shop is another way we’re delivering on that promise.”

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