Last weekend, Samsung opened its second Belgian Experience Store in Wijnegem (Antwerp). It is only the third to open in the Benelux, following Brussels and Utrecht. Customers are able to test products, have their devices repaired, and attend workshops.
Bringing the brand closer to the customer
“We want to offer our customers an experience here”, marketing director Benelux Serge Vandriessche says. “A Samsung Experience Store immerses customers in the world of Samsung. This is how we bring our brand closer to the customer. Shoppers can discover our complete mobile range: smartphones, tablets and wearables. There are no dummies in the shop, just working products that you can try out.”
“Our advisers will not only explain what you can do with the latest smartphone, but also how that device works together with other devices, such as the Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Buds or a Bluetooth speaker. We sell accessories that personalise or protect the devices, including ‘clearcoats’: this is where we can apply a protective layer showing different patterns and designs to phones or tablets.”
Repairs
Visitors can also visit the Experience Store to have their smartphone, tablet or smartwatch repaired; devices are repaired within an hour if an appointment is booked in advance. Even without an appointment, you can still go for a repair: your device will be ready the same day if you drop it off before 3 in the afternoon. In the shop, there is a small-scale amphitheatre that will be used, among other things, to organise workshops to assist users in getting more out of their device – for example, sessions about taking the best Instagram photo, or editing videos.
The Experience Store is run by Proximus agent Studio Telecom, which already operates about twenty shops in Belgium. “This is because we are not a retailer, and we do not want to compete with our agents. This is a collaboration: they run the shop for us”, the Samsung director says.
