Wandering around town yesterday, I stumbled across a store under construction with a name that's familiar to me, but not in association with a physical store: Samsung.

Samsung Store 1600

I've noticed Samsung's retail ambitions growing beyond just another item on a shelf, beyond buying an end-isle display in a store. There is a Samsung mini-stores inside my local Best Buy, staff by people wearing Samsung logo shirts instead of Best Buy logo shirts. I never asked if they were Best Buy employees with a different uniform or Samsung employees, but I don't suppose that matters. Obviously when I step foot within the Samsung zone I was getting pitched the Samsung life.

But that was only about a hundred square feet, this looks significantly larger and obviously entirely focused on Samsung products. According to Engadget, this is one of three Samsung retail stores opening in conjunction with the "10 years of Galaxy" event where Samsung is expected to introduce the Galaxy S10. One in New York, on in Texas, and this one on the west coast in California.

The location speaks to Samsung's ambition. Americana at Brand is an upscale shopping center. Featuring brands like Tesla, Diane von Furstenberg, and Sephora. It is across the street from Glendale Galleria, a sizable mall all by itself. Glendale Galleria has retail presence from Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple. (Americana also has an Apple store, only a few hundred feet from Glendale Galleria's Apple store, for some reason.) Beyond the borders of these two giant malls, the neighborhood also includes other ameneties such as the Alex theater for performing arts, surrounded by restaurants catering to that audience.

In short, this storefront is a major investment by Samsung to stake a claim in prime real estate. I'll be curious to see what kind of foot traffic I see in the Samsung store on my next visit to Americana.