Apple started the trend. Microsoft followed the trend. Now HTC is looking to jump on the bandwagon. The difference here being that both Apple and Microsoft both sell more than just mobile devices. HTC has already opened one store in Taiwan and has plans to open two more. They are also reportedly looking to have channel partners that would expand their presense to more than 100 stores in Taiwan.
While HTC has seen sales climbing over the past few years, is it really a wise decision to get into the storefront market? In my opinion, the answer is a resounding YES. HTC devices have evolved over the years and with each iteration, they seem to get better and better. For them to open a storefront with demos and devices and that can be sold both unlocked and across carriers would do wonders for HTC, Google and Microsoft in terms of sales and adoption of their respective platforms (not that Android really needs a helping hand at the moment).
Recent studies show that people are more likely to buy anything if they can actually see it, touch it, use it and witness it’s capabilities first hand. Knowing the attention to detail that they have toward their devices, I can only assume that that same level of detail would be present in any storefront they choose to open.
For now, HTC retail plan appear to be exclusive to Taiwan, but could expand to other Asian countries. While speaking to Asian telecom executives, HTC’s Peter Chou declared “Our team has set a goal of making 2011 the year of Asia for HTC.” Though HTC has had incredible success in Europe and the U.S. over the past years, HTC’s growth in the Asian market had extremely slow. HTC is hoping that a strong retail push will help them gain some traction.
umm, no offense, but that looks pretty weak. I love my HTC, its giving me great experiences everyday. But if you want to mention Apple or even Microsoft alongside a concept for a retail environment, please concider it for more than 3 seconds, it obviously took longer to render than concieve. HTC is a great maker of mobile devices, please put a little thought and effort into branching out into the retail arena or all your hard work will be ignored by the masses. Don’t just be quietly brilliant, be visually brilliant, I know you can.
PS, that’s a kiosk, not a retail space.
Look forward to seeing some improvement on this idea.
@bjorn I understand where you’re coming from. Keep in mind, the image above is not representative of what the stores will actually look like. It’s simply a concept image that I pulled form the web.
Knowing HTC, they will be offering a unique experience where customers will be able to test out all of HTC’s devices, learn about HTC Sense, and buy the right HTC phone that fits their needs.
Thanks for clearing that up Nick. In that case, I look forward to seeing the real deal.