Sony embarks on retail expansion

SAN DIEGO — Sony Electronics is expanding its retail footprint by opening three newly remodeled Sony Stores and several brand new Sony Gallery experiences. The company also unveiled a smaller-store format called Sony Gallery.

Following the debut of the redesigned Sony Store in the Simon Mall Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, Calif., Sony announced it will open three new concept stores located in Miami, San Diego, and Orlando, Fla. The remodels will bring the total of U.S. redesigned stores to eight.

Sony's retail expansion plans also include free-standing Sony Gallery. a curated assortment of Sony's best products in a smaller store footprint. The first Sony Gallery opened this week at the Westfield UTC Mall in San Diego. Two more Sony Galleries will open in New Jersey and San Francisco next month, and additional locations are being planned in shopping centers across the country.

The Sony Gallery at UTC is the predecessor to another new Sony retail store concept that will open this fall, a "boutique" in size and style with the best TVs, cameras, computers and audio products and services Sony has on the market.

"We're creating a new way to shop for consumer electronics," said Mike Fasulo, EVP sales operations for Sony Electronics. "People expect the best from Sony, and we want to exceed their expectations by providing a personal, memorable shopping experience to all of our guests, that keeps them and their families coming back again and again."