Los Angeles, CA—Sony Electronics opened the first newly branded Sony store in the U.S. on April 1, which was developed to offer an “exciting new concept, design and customer experience.” Celebrations included giveaways, a live performance by Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Natasha Bedingfield and hands-on demos of Sony’s streaming music service, Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity.
Located at the Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles, the 4,200-square-foot store features a layout that allows consumers to explore the complete Sony experience, including electronics, games, movies, music, network services and future technologies. The layout is flexible, with movable walls and changeable color schemes, so it can be reconfigured to highlight specific products, services or content to engage customers with fresh experiences each time they return.
“Sony’s goal is always to exceed customer expectations by providing an exciting, interactive and entertaining shopping experience,” said Phil Molyneux, president and COO, Sony Electronics. “Our new store concept gives shoppers an opportunity to interact with trained and knowledgeable staff as well as preview, test, compare and unlock the full potential of Sony’s entertainment offerings.”
In line with Sony’s make.believe brand message, the store designed attempts to capture the imagination of customers and engage them with all Sony offers in an integrated, interactive way. Consumers can experience everything from shooting video on a range of cameras and viewing 3D movies from Sony Pictures to testing headphones while listening to Sony Music artists. They can also test out Sony’s network services—including Music Unlimited and Video on Demand powered by Qriocity—on network-connected products, and play games on a PS3 or Sony 3DTV.
“The new store in Century City is a significant step in building a blueprint for future Sony stores, both in the U.S. and around the world,” added Kiyoshi Shikano, Global Sales and Marketing, Sony. “In this store, Sony is eager to test innovative offerings and listen and learn from customer feedback. We will gather opinions so that we can continually evolve and improve our retail experience, both here in the U.S. and around the world. As Sony is increasing its focus on providing its customers with an integrated shopping experience that features all that Sony has to offer, from hardware to content to services, all of its Sony Style stores and websites globally will also be transitioning branding from Sony Style to Sony.”
Sony also introduced Premium Services to provide customers with enhanced support for Sony products, from setup to service and repair. Services include assistance and education by trained staff, activation of wireless services, and technical PC and IT support by certified technicians. sony.com
