PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
When asked which tech brands have their own retail stores on the High Street, the most popular answers will be Apple and Sony.
That may be changing soon as more tech vendors and brands look to open up their own standalone outlets.
There has been worry for some time now that the UK High Street is ‘dying’ and empty shops are turning into cafe?s as shoppers look to buy online.
However, an injection of own-brand stores could be the thing that attracts tech fans back to town centres.
Last year, tablet manufacturer Wacom partnered with Square Group to open its first UK Experience Centre.
Around the same time, Samsung unveiled its first UK Experience Store in Westfield Stratford City. The tech brand has now opened up eight more stores up and down the UK.
Vodafone has also unveiled plans to invest £100 million into the UK’s High Street by opening 150 new stores. The investment, which will create 1,400 jobs, caught the eye of Prime Minister David Cameron, who called it a “fantastic vote of confidence in the UK workforce”.
Other brands have been testing the water with pop up shops – Intel opened a temporary outlet in New York over the Christmas period to show off its latest tech to seasonal shoppers.
Although there has been no word if this will be repeated in the UK, I would not be surprised if more tech brands start to consider owning their own retail space.
