Since most people are using their smartphones or tablets while at a coffee shop anyway, Samsung figured that they could use their products in order to improve customer experience in such locations.
The two companies hinted at a partnership at CES 2014, but they only made an official announcement yesterday. Their multi-year deal implies the use of illycaffè products at Samsung events and, more importantly, the use of Galaxy tablets and other smart devices in illycaffè shops.
Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics stated that: “At Samsung, our goal is to help people live richer, simpler and more meaningful lives. We seek innovators like illy, who share our commitment to enhancing people’s daily lives, to be our partners. Together, we look forward to taking this collaboration to the next level in the near future by opening it up to new areas and additional shared projects and to driving creativity, innovation and passion over a great cup of coffee.”
The first location to benefit from this deal’s advantages is illycaffè’s shop on on London’s Regent Street, a place “where traditional style meets high tech, it enables customers to enjoy a superior experience based on engaging visual interaction and premium multimedia content.” A mobile application will also be launched as a result of this partnership, to make the coffee drinking experience even better. On top of that, there will also be on-site Samsung Angels who will help coffee drinkers make the most out of this deal.
Andrea Illy, illycaffè Chairman and CEO, added that “We are really proud to announce this partnership with Samsung. illycaffè has always been at the forefront of creativity and innovation. Samsung is a natural ally for us in developing a new retail concept where the physical and digital experiences have no boundaries. Their passion for true creativity and their unrivaled expertise in technology innovation and new media will help us in bringing to life a totally new generation of coffee shops around the world.”
In my opinion, this really is a match made in heaven, as not only Samsung and illycaffè have a lot to gain, but also the customers who will visit the events of the former and the coffee boutiques of the latter. It remains to be seen what products will be featured in the coffee shops, as Samsung promises to bring some innovations to the table.
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