Sony Store - Did they Learn?

Recently, Sony has announced the opening of a new store in Japan. The Nagoya store is a direct result of Apple taking over most of the market in Japan. Therefore, much like Microsoft has done, and Sony has done in the US, Sony has decided to launch an Apple-like store.

The 2-level store includes "backStage," a service/support group, much like Apple's "Genius Bar," that will assist with questions and training customers may need. Its first floor focuses on their notebooks, cameras, and walkmans. While the second floor is designed for home theater, led by their new 3D tv's. As you can see from the picture above, the store has elegant and hip designs with wide open areas consistent with "SonyStyle."

The question we need to ask now is "Is this the right decision?" I have blogged about Microsoft and their experiences with opening a store in the past. I thought it was a good idea for Microsoft, and still think it is a good idea for Sony. The main difference this time is, I think Sony has it right. 

Sony needed to fashion themselves close to Apple, because consumer's desire that hands-on experience. Sony already has some outlet stores in the US, but with these new stores in Japan it may spread to new openings worldwide. The Nagoya store is a touch above the current US retail chains, which I think will prove to be better. So, since Sony has established retail stores, they now need to focus on how to differentiate themselves from Apple.

I am sure you all know what I am going to say next. The differentiation comes from Sony's culture and brand. If Sony only opened these retail chains and revealed them to the customer exactly like Apple, then there would be no reason to go to a Sony store. Sony has introduced retail chains to parity themselves with Apple, but have fused their culture into the stores to separate the customer's experience from Apple's.

Sony believes heavily that these retail stores will drive in more business for them, which is why I believe they will succeed. They are fully vested in them, so they will put the necessary resources into them to deliver the "SonyStyle" culture. The store has stations connected to each of Sony's home products, allowing the customer to interact with them all. With that, the store has "Stylists" that can help the customer with their purchase decision. As you can see Sony's culture is heavily embedded in the customer's experience.

Sony needs to provide these superior experiences compared to Apple. The talent that Sony casts into the store will be critical. We have talked a lot over the past week how important your employees are to your company, and again we see here how necessary they are in retail. This will and should take an ample amount of resources to ensure accurate casting. The culture the employees bring is just as important as the overall feel and experience of the store.

Ultimately, it comes down to getting customers in the store. If Sony can't get customers in their store then these concepts will fail. There are many factors that go into retail before the customer even sets foot in the door. But, I believe that the concept of the store will be stable and will create an experience different than Apple's. This should drive more business and drive the sales Sony desires.