Video & Audio Center (VAC) is doubling down on the Westfield Century City Mall.
Back in January, the Los Angeles-based tech retailer opened a cutting-edge showroom in the ritzy, heavily trafficked shopping center.
Pleased with its performance, the five-store chain decided to open a sixth location — within the same mall.
The new, smaller Galleria shop, set to open in mid-November, was conceived as a hands-on showcase for robotics, connectivity, custom installations, commercial integration and other hot technologies.
See also: Rethinking Experience Retail
“Consumers are embracing technology like never before,” said VAC co-principal Joseph Akhtarzad [pictured, left]. “There’s a hunger and an appetite for it, and we’re here to satisfy it.”
To that end, the new boutique will feature weekly demos by key vendors, and will have a staffer on hand from the company’s Just One Touch custom integration subsidiary.
See: White-Glove Retail: Service With A Smile
“It’s a whole new direction in retail,” added VAC corporate director and chief technologist Tom Campbell [pictured, right]. “We’re creating a social environment where shoppers can go for confirmation and verification.”
Already in the works for a year, the shop, officially dubbed Video & Audio Center Exclusive Technology Showcase Galleria, will feature “lots of glass and black granite” Campbell said, as designed by Akhtarzad and the company’s architects.
The VAC team also took into account the old retail adage “Location, location, location.” Besides the mall’s steady stream of shoppers — projected by Westfield to hit 2 million visitors per month following a recent billion-dollar renovation — the Galleria is strategically located in front of an Apple Store and near the mall entrance and exit, forcing those 2 million potential customers to pass it twice, Campbell said.
Related: LG Pop-Up Drives OLED Sales For VAC
