Samsung Opening 1,400 Mini-Shops Inside Best Buy Stores Across U.S.

English: Samsung Logo Suomi: Samsungin logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The next time you walk into a Best Buy store, there’s a good chance you’ll see Samsung‘s answer to Apple’s retail stores.

The South Korean electronics giant, which has been closing the gap between itself and Apple, is rolling out hundreds of mini-shops across the U.S. inside Best Buy big-box locations as well as its smaller mobile-specific retail shops.  The stores are formally called Samsung Experience Shops and will showcase Samsung products.

A couple of shops opened in March and more have opened since.  Samsung hopes to have 900 of them up and running by the end of this month with another 500 opening throughout “late spring and early summer.”

One of the primary purposes of the shops is to provide Samsung customers with assistance on their devices.  That’s no surprise considering Samsung credits its social media fans for sparking its decision to build out the shops.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/la-fi-tn-samsung-experience-shops-best-buy-20130507,0,6685597.story

Vignettes Of Black Friday

With promotions, discounts and doorbusters already well under way on Thanksgiving Day itself, many big-box retailers are making Black Friday stretch longer than ever.  The Lede is checking out the mood of American consumers in occasional vignettes Thursday and Friday as the economically critical holiday shopping season kicks off.

Shoppers waiting outside Sam’s Club in Eagan, Minn., for Friday’s 7 a.m. opening clung to free Starbuck’s Holiday Blend coffee as they endured freezing temperatures and biting winds and collected brightly colored vouchers for laptops and big-screen TVs.

The biggest draw: a 96-cent Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone.  Once inside, they also beelined for tickets for the 63 Samsungs in stock, which sold out shortly after the store opened.  Customers could make an appointment for later in the day or another day to purchase the phone, choosing from three carriers, Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint.

“O.K., this is my last blue for Sprint,” an employee called out at 7:08 a.m.

Read more:  http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/coverage-of-black-friday/?hp

Boscov’s Adds Furniture Line, Eliminates Appliances

English: Boscov’s Department Store in the Exton Square Mall. Built c. 1998 as an expansion to the mall, it displaced the Zook House which was on the NRHP in Chester County, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Boscov’s is eliminating its section of appliances and electronics in its more than 40 stores and using the space to grow its furniture selections.

Albert R. Boscov, chairman of Boscov’s Department Stores Inc., said the furniture business is seeing growth, while sales of products such as televisions are not.

With high competition from stores that specialize in electronics, such as Best Buy, Boscov said the company is going to stick to what it does well.

Boscov’s is one of the last department stores that sell appliances, he said, selling those products longer than some of its competitors.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=428507

Best Buy To Close 50 Stores

Logo of Best Buy, US-based retail chain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Best Buy Company posted weaker-than-expected sales for the key holiday quarter and said it would close 50 large U.S. stores, sending shares of the world’s largest consumer electronics chain down 9 percent on Thursday.

Analysts and investors expected more aggressive restructuring efforts from the chain, whose large-format stores have often been termed “white elephants.”

While most industry insiders welcomed Best Buy’s decision to reduce its retail footprint at a time when many shoppers buy their gadgets online, they expected the retailer would have done more.

Read more: http://business-news.thestreet.com/the-mercury/story/best-buy-close-50-stores/1