Samsung bet on stores to get closer to customers

Between October 2012 and last week Samsung unveiled nine unique shops in Brazil, in a strategy to bring the consumer brand. In 2013, the goal is to open offices in major cities
of the country. Today, the company has ten shops, in Salvador (BA), Recife (PE), Manaus (AM), Belém (PA), Campinas and Ribeirão Preto (SP), and three in the city of São Paulo. On average, each receives 5 thousand visitors per month.
The company is seeking a spot in Rio de Janeiro.
The path chosen by South Korean giants in the country follows a global guideline, explains Michael Oliveira, senior sales manager at Samsung's mass. "We identified a major opportunity to improve customer service and testing our products." The strategy has three main reasons, lists.
The first is the large portfolio of mobility products from Samsung. With a unique shop, it is possible to present the variety of products and models. In each store, are exposed, on average, 60 products, including smartphones, tablets, cameras, notebooks and accessories. The second otivo is show convergence between them.
"The cell phone connects to your TV, which connects to the notebook
that, in turn, connects to the camera. At the store, consumers can see that convergence, "he says. Finally, the shops act as a point of
learning and tasting. "We needed a space to explain these technologies to the consumer".
The first store was opened in the Mall Higienópolis,
the West side of São Paulo, in April, as a pilot project. By October, the company said the performance of the model and the reaction of consumers. Based on the results of the pilot project, the company drew a franchise model.
Oliveira doesn't reveal the investment required by the franchisee and says that, although they are franchises, the Samsung participates in actions since training available to products in stores, preferably installed in shopping malls, to offer customer convenience. "The purpose of the store is to sell unsold, but meet and take dú lives, improve the lives of consumers," says Oliveira.
In Brazil, brands like Sony, Nokia and, more recently, Amazon (with kiosks), adopted a strategy of betting on exclusive shops. In November, Apple confirmed that it will have a store in Brazil. "It's a way to eliminate the retailer's margin, which is high for the manufacturer, and have a direct communication and marketing channel with the client," says Bruno Freitas, supervisor of research from consultancy IDC. "It's a way to have your own channel and if
differentiate ", he adds.