Samsung has a boat load of money, especially after they just estimated their operating profit for Q3 to be around $9.3 billion. Samsung already has their own “Experience Shops” in many Best Buy locations, but they are looking to make that relationship a bit bigger. Right now the rumor going around, via the Korea Times, is that Samsung is looking to buy a stake in Best Buy, which will probably really help them out as Best Buy has been struggling lately and have been laying off quite a few of their employees and closing stores.
Korea Times did mention that Lee Jae-Yong, who is Samsung’s vice chairman “recently met with senior executives at Best Buy and discussed pending business issues.” Although, Lee didn’t provide any details on the meeting, we can kinda figure that Samsung is looking to purchase a stake in Best Buy, and/or expand their Experience Shops inside of Best Buy. Especially since there have already been rumors floating around that Samsung has been considering getting a stake of Best Buy under their belt.
An analyst over at HMC Securities, Kim Young-woo recently spoke about how “Samsung has been considering increasing subsidies paid to Best Buy in a strategic move to help the retailer and also increase the exposure of its products.” This plan sounds like a great one for Samsung. It should also help them gain even more exposure across the US. Not that they really need it, since they already own so much of the market share in the US and worldwide. It would also give them a chance to have their equivalent of an Apple Store. Maybe then we will stop making fun of Apple fans for camping out for the iPhone, as I’m sure many of us will camp out for Samsung’s upcoming phones and tablets.
What if all the Best Buy stores magically turned into Samsung stores? Would you still visit them? Or would you rather Best Buy carry all Android devices from OEMs like HTC, LG, Sony, and others?