Sony to open 350 mini-stores within Best Buy stores

Both Samsung and Sony are readying retail spaces inside of Best Buy stores to showcase new home theater items featuring 4K ultra high definition televisions inside of the big box retailer. Labeled as “experience” areas within the stores, Sony will have dedicated areas in 350 Best Buy stores, while Samsung will have featured areas in 500 stores to be installed in the coming weeks. The areas for Sony’s in store placements will feature 4K UHD televisions and technology at their forefront, but will also be used to showcase other consumer electronics.

Still in turnaround mode, the Japanese manufacturer is raising its profile at the last national big-box electronics retailer. Starting in mid-May, about a third of Best Buy stores in the U.S. will be reconfiguring their home entertainment departments to make away for a new feature: “The Sony Experience at Best Buy.” It’s the latest instance of the electronics chain introducing a flashy store-within-the-store dedicated to one brand–something it did last year with both Samsung mobile gadgetsand PCs running Microsoft’s Windows. The Sony Experience will stock a variety of Sony products: TVs at various price points, audio equipment such as sound bars, and the PlayStation 4. But the emphasis will be on 4K–the technology that’s the next step in image quality beyond HD–with Sony 4K Ultra HD TVs and camcorders on display, and demos comparing the sharper 4K picture against mere 1080p HD.