Apple Looks to Open First Store in Samsung’s Backyard

[Guest]

Apple Looks to Open First Store in Samsung’s Backyard Apple executives scouted potential sites near Samsung’s headquarters in Seoul Original article from The Wall Street Journal

 

Quote

SEOUL— Apple Inc. has made inquiries about opening its first retail store in South Korea, in a signal that the technology company might be looking to step up competition in the backyard of smartphone rival Samsung Group.

 

Apple looked at sites across the street from the group’s longtime headquarters in Seoul, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

The Cupertino, Calif., company, which is Samsung Electronics Co.’s biggest rival in the mobile-phone market as well as a major customer of its smartphone components, is looking at locations near the South Korean company’s own three-story global flagship store in Seoul’s upscale Gangnam neighborhood, the people said. The company has sent retail executives to South Korea in recent months to check out potential sites for the store, they said.

So I assume there will be corporate spying going on.

Quote

After the launch of the larger-screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in late 2014, Apple jumped to about one-quarter of the market, before its share fell below 10% in the second quarter of 2016, according to data tracker Strategy Analytics.

Opening a glitzy flagship store would send a message that Apple intends to compete hard on Samsung’s home turf.

^ Or just toughening of competition.

[2FA]

Good luck to them, Samsung is extremely popular in South Korea.

[Moderateshadow]

that wont go over well lol

[themctipers]

Apple! Like anyone there is going to buy something from there..

[TrigrH]

53 minutes ago, VPrime said:

So I assume there will be corporate spying going on.

Maybe its a bait? loaded with fake corporate plans like a honey pot

[VerticalDiscussions]

I mean, fightning in Europe is pretty much a win for Apple, fighting in the US is currently even at best between both (Yes the Note 7 fiasco might have changed much), but fighting Samsung in South Korea, heck even if it was LG, is definetly a bad decision xD! Only the most diehard Apple fans or people who are simply not interested in smartphones, will choose the Apple store next doors.

[Misanthrope]

I'm just so glad that we've relegated an entire fucking country to being "House Samsung"

[Okjoek]

At least it's not Windows Phones.

[thexzenon]

4 hours ago, Misanthrope said:

I'm just so glad that we've relegated an entire fucking country to being "House Samsung"

And Brood War land.

[atrash]

If Apple can do the Korean language properly in OSes/products/marketing (perhaps they already have),I can still imagine the Korean people flocking over to Apple Store. There are already plenty of Apple Premium reseller shops in Seoul from what I saw during my 1 week visit to Seoul earlier this year.

[Curufinwe_wins]

Not that it isn't good for competition  (I can highly frown on the company and their product philosophy without wanting Samsung to run unchallenged).... but I have a feeling this is going to turn into the same crap shoot MS had in its pivot to Japan...