Palm giving retail another go, opening 'Experience Centers' in LA malls 14
Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:22 am EDT 
You may recall Palm’s failed experiment from a few years back. No, not the Foleo. This one is the less-acknowledged venture into direct-to-consumer retail sales. As noted at PalmInfocenter, Palm is again wading into the brick-and-mortar retail world, this time opening two “Palm Pre Experience Centers” at two upscale shopping malls in Los Angeles: The Grove and The Americana at Brand (both developed by Caruso Affiliated).
Unlike the old interior mall and airport stores that Palm previously ran, these instead will be outdoor locations under “an array of umbrellas” in the park areas of the aforementioned shopping centers. And instead of simply hawking Palm products, the Experience Centers will come equipped with Palm Ambassadors that will provide one-on-one tutorials with the Pre, HDTVs around the installation will broadcast the demos to larger groups. The ambassadors will also use the Pre’s features to help the shopping centers’ concierge staff with everything from movie tickets to restaurant reservations. While there will be all sorts of demoing of the Pre to potential customers, it’s not clear if there will actually be Pre phones available for purchase at the Palm Pre Experience Centers, but there’s no reason to believe that wouldn’t be the case.
Palm has also signed on as the presenting sponsor for the Summer Concert series at both shopping centers. Running through August, the free Wednesday evening concerts will feature artists like Vanessa Carlton, Ashley Tisdale, Michelle Branch, and Gavin Rossdale.
14 Comments
Sounds cool...good luck Palm! Hopefully this will be a hit and they'll do this in other locations. More exposure, more Pre users, more interest all means more development and apps for our beloved webOS!
I say they all need to be here in Chicago.. The other cities are BLAH!!! lol just kidding.. agree with 1st post
Saw ads for this at the Grove starting several weeks ago. Looks like they're pulling together a great event!
Go for it Palm. Maybe we can hope that this is an indication that some new exciting apps are on the way.
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO THE COMMENTING CREW~
I HAVE HAD MY PALM PRE, SINCE THE DAY OF LAUNCH & I'm ENJOYING THE PROCESS OF UTILIZING & INCORPORATING THE NEW & EXCLUSIVE FEATURES THAT ARE UNIGUE TO THE
PALM PRE EXPERIENCE, THAT NO OTHER SMART PHONE HAS YET TO ACCOMPLISH...
IT IS WAY TOO MUCH FUN & EASY TO ASSIMILATE~IT IS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS.....
WHEN Ur DEALING WITH CORPORATE AMERICA, THEY WILL COMPLETE THEIR DUE DILIGENCE
IN A MYRIAD OF WAYS, ESPECIALLY IN TERM'S OF THEIR GOALS & OBJECTIVES FOR THE
MARKETING & SALES OF ANY INDIVIDUAL CAMPAIGN...
IT APPEARS THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL POINTS OF SERVICE THAT THEY ARE COLLABORATING
ON WITH THE TWO VENUES & HAVING LOCAL TALENT @ Ur FINGERTIPS IN ONE OF THE MAJOR ENTERTAINMENT MECCA'S IS A STARTING POINT TO DRAW THE PUBLIC IN TO THE VENUES & THEN EDUCATING THE INTERESTED MASSES, SURROUNDING THE PALM PRE'S
VAST UTILIZATION & IN CONCERT WITH THE CONCIERGE STAFF, CREATES A TEAM APPROACH FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE & HOW EASILY CONNECTED YOU CAN BE~TO BOTH
THE VIRTUAL WORLD & THE PRAGMATIC ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING & PRESENTING TO THE OPEN PUBLIC A MOMENTUM OF SEAMLESS SERVICE FOR EVERY~ONE WHO CARES TO PARTICIPATE~
JUST A FABULOUS CONCEPT, IN TERMS OF LAUNCHING THE PRE, IN CONJUNCTION W/THE VENUES AS A PRACTICAL PRODUCT & A SERVICE ORIENTED TOWARDS THE GENERAL PUBLIC~
& I'm SURE THE PROJECT WILL DRAW THRONGS OF PEOPLE OVER THE COURSE OF THE SUMMER & THE EVENTUAL FALL RUSH OF SHOPPING FOR THE SCHOLL KIDS....
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED....Easy~E.