Samsung Electronics Co. has agreed a deal to open a new space in London’s King’s Cross district which will serve as a showcase for its products and technology, two people with knowledge of the plan said. The technology giant is finalizing details to lease the 20,000 square feet (1,858 square meter) top floor of the under construction Coal Drops Yard mall, which has been designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plan is private. The space, under the kissing curved roof of the former Victorian coal store, will be similar to Samsung’s 837 site in New York’s Meatpacking district, which the company describes as “not a store, but a new kind of place filled with ideas, experiences and Samsung’s cutting edge devices”, according to its website. A spokeswoman for Argent Property Development Services LLP, which is developing the mall on behalf of the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership, declined to comment. A spokesman for Samsung said the company does not comment on rumor or speculation.
Technology giants including Microsoft Corp. and Samsung have been opening luxurious new show rooms around the world, following in the footsteps of Apple Inc., which has used a network of sleek stores to help position itself as a luxury technology brand that commands wide profit margins. Microsoft confirmed last month it plans to open a new flagship store within London’s Oxford Circus, close to the Apple store on Regent Street. Heatherwick is also helping design Alphabet Inc.’s new Google campus in London. It’s another development at King’s Cross, an area transformed by Argent from an industrial wasteland into a trendy new commercial district. Samsung’s planned London space will be a similar size to the Apple store on Regent Street. The Coal Drops Yard mall, which will be about 100,000 square feet in total, is scheduled to open in October 2018.
