Samsung has shut down its flagship Experience Store in London's Westfield Stratford shopping center. One of ten such retail locations around the country, the store was located in a prominent section of the mall and was often the first retail outlet to commence sales of devices like the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5.
The deconstruction of the store was noted by visitors to the mall last night:
And it's all over for the flagship #Samsung Experienced store in @westfieldstrat #signofthetimes pic.twitter.com/P03eNivsab
— Najeeb Khan (@najeebster) December 23, 2014
In a statement provided to The Verge, Samsung stated that its decision to close the store would not affect the operation of the remaining Experience Stores in the UK:
We remain fully committed to the operation of the remaining nine Samsung Experience Stores across the UK, and wish to reassure our customers that those stores will not be affected by this decision.
The closure of its flagship store highlights the downturn Samsung is witnessing of late. The South Korean manufacturer had its profits eroded by 60 percent in the third quarter of 2014, and has seen sales overshadowed by local vendors in emerging markets like China.
Some of the cost-cutting measures by Samsung include a reduction in its smartphone portfolio by as much as 30 percent in 2015, followed by a decision to end sales of Chromebooks in Europe. At this stage, it is unclear as to how the downturn in sales would affect Samsung's planned retail expansion in the territory.
