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Not only is Samsung taking on the Apple Store with new own-brand shops — but it’s teaming up with two high street rivals to do it. Having already revealed the S4, the Note and the rest of the Galaxy line-up will make their home in dedicated shops across Europe run by Carphone Warehouse, Samsung has now revealed plans for Phones 4U to run Samsung shops too.
Phones 4U already runs the Samsung flagship store in London’s Westfield enormomall, and will add fifteen Samsung-branded shops managed and staffed by 4Uers.
Meanwhile Carphone Warehouse plans 60 Samsung-brand shops in Europe, with a spokesperson telling me there are likely to be around 20 in Britain.
Further details haven’t been confirmed yet for either chain, but the Samsung shops are expected to be a mix of brand new locations and refitted existing branches of Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U.
The new stores are expected to throw open their doors in the next three months or so, which sounds like a race to be open in time for Samsung’s biggest phone, the hotly-rumoured Galaxy S5 that’s less than a month away.
Alongside the S5, the shops will sell other Galaxy mobile phones and tablets, and laptops and other Samsung hardware.
What do you think of Samsung’s plans for its own shops? Can Samsung establish its own unique retail identity in the same way the Apple Store has? Shop around in the comments.
