In late February, Sony made the shocking announcement that they would be closing 20 out of their 31 retail stores in the United States. The move, in essence, would kill Sony’s entire retail presence which was already weak at best. This left many Sony fans wondering how the company would survive and battle the likes of Apple and Samsung. As it turns out, the answer is to do what exactly what those companies did. Prior to Apple building its own arsenal of now iconic stores throughout the world and becoming the most profitable retailer on the planet, the company built mini Apple stores inside of Best Buy and now-defunct CompUSA stores. These stores helped Apple gain a strong foothold with consumers while offering a much lower cost for the company. Eventually, Apple would become so successful at this model that the company built its own fleet of retail stores. Eventually, as Samsung does, the company copied the model from Apple and in the past two years, has launched a massive network of small stores inside of other big box retailers that highlight their products.

Not to be outdone, Sony has announced that they too will be inside of 350 Best Buy stores with what they call the ‘Sony Experience.’ Let’s talk details.

Set to be deployed in mid-May, the Sony Experience will arrive in 350 Best Buy locations with a focus on 4K products like Sony’s 4K televisions, 4K camcorders, and 4K media players. Mike Mohan, Best Buy’s Chief Merchandising Officer:

 Sony’s 4K Ultra HD televisions have to be seen to be believed. Our newly transformed home theater areas will, for the first time, allow customers to test, try and experience how all of the Sony products work together. 

In addition to 4K devices, the Sony Experience will also offer traditional 1080p televisions and other important products from Sony like the PlayStation 4. Depending on the company’s mobile strategy, don’t be surprised if the Xperia Z2 or Xperia Z2 Tablet also popped up in them. Sony plans to have touchscreen displays and interactive demos help drive attention towards their product ranges while Best Buy employees will be staffed to not answer questions for would-be buyers.

Without the need for staffing and a far less costly rent and overhead, the Sony Experience will be able to reach far more consumers than Sony could ever reach via its own retail stores in a destination that already targets would-be tech owners. It’s worth noting that Samsung already has nearly 900 similar locations while Microsoft follows in second with 600.

Discuss:

Was it a wise choice for Sony to abandon its own retail strategy in favor of creating these smaller experiences in other retailers like Best Buy?

[Via Sony]