Best Buy is teaming with gaming manufacturer Alienware for a new branded vendor shop in 50 of the retailer’s brick-and-mortar locations.
The dedicated areas will be known as Alienware Experiences, powered by Intel, and will replace the former Intel Technology Experience Zones in Best Buy that opened in 2014. The newly designed areas will feature a Best Buy employee who can demonstrate the gaming products and answer consumers’ questions.
In addition to Alienware desktops, laptops and accessories, the demo shops will also feature third-party PC peripherals, and consumers will be able to try out such games as “Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2” and “Project Cars.”
Best Buys in 25 states will feature the new Alienware Experiences. The full list of participating locations can be found on its website.
The sections extend Best Buy’s strategy under CEO Hubert Joly of subsidizing its sales floors by offering dedicated, branded space to vendors, who are responsible for fixturing and in some instances labor. The model began with Samsung’s chain-wide installation of mobile shops in 2013, has since extended to Samsung appliances, Microsoft computers, and Verizon and AT&T carrier sections.
