Samsung opens Gangnam "playground" to counter Apple

Industry

Published: 20 Jun. 2023, 16:35

Samsung opens Gangnam "playground" to counter Apple

Samsung Gangnam, Samsung Electronics' new flagship store conceptualized as a "playground," will open on June 29. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics is going head to head with Apple in Gangnam, with the Korean smartphone maker slated to open a brand new type of offline store just 600 meters away from its rival.

This soon-to-open store is conceptualized as a playground, designed to win over younger generations in Korea who have lately tended to prefer Apple's iPhone over Samsung's Galaxy.

The Korean tech company said Tuesday it will open a six-story store dubbed the Samsung Gangnam near Gangnam Station where visitors can actively engage with the company’s latest devices from smartphones and wearables to home appliances. The store officially opens at 5 p.m. on June 29.

Samsung Gangnam is the first store of its type globally where experiencing products becomes a priority over making purchases, according to a Samsung spokesman.

Apple's fifth retail store, which opened just in March, is a mere 10-minute walk from Samsung Gangnam. Whether Samsung's new "playground" store can plug the steady expansion of the iPhone's market share in Korea among younger generations remains to be seen.

According to a recent Gallup Korea survey, 52 percent of those in their teens and 20s owned iPhones compared to 44 percent who responded that they use Samsung Galaxy phones as of the end of last year.

"Samsung Gangnam, as a mecca of new and joyful experiences, will become a playground for millennials and Generation Z [those born in 1997 onward] that they can visit anytime they want," said a Samsung Electronics spokesperson.

"It will become a special venue where these generations can bond together."

Samsung Gangnam plans to hold monthly sessions where employees share some behind-the-scene episodes from the development of certain products or services with the store's visitors.

Those who want to visit the store on its first day must make a reservation on its website, with this service available from Tuesday to June 29.