Samsung opens the throttle on its retail expansion

Along with its 1,400 "store in store" kiosks at Best Buy venues across the US, Samsung is expanding its retail beachhead in Canada and across Europe.

 

Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly at a Best Buy-Samsung event last year.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
Samsung might not have the same sort of brick-and-mortar storefronts as Apple and Microsoft, but it is hard at work beefing up its presence in the retail sector.
Last spring, the South Korean electronics giant revealed its intention to launch Samsung mini stores in Best Buy stores and Best Buy Mobile locations across the United States. The company said that it would operate those Samsung Experience shops for three years, and then evaluate with Best Buy whether to continue the arrangement.
On top of its 1,400 US locations, Samsung is now pushing ahead with plans for a greater presence in Canada and in Europe.

In Europe, the company will open an additional 75 or more of its own Samsung-branded retail setups in the coming months, up from the 31 currently open on the continent, and in Canada it plans to open 90 of the "store in store" kiosks at Best Buy and Future Shops sites by the spring, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing conversations with the company's executives.