Dive Brief:
- Ashley has teamed up with tech giant Samsung to create The Connected Home Experience powered by Samsung SmartThings, the furniture retailer announced Tuesday.
- At Ashley’s flagship store in Brentwood, Tennessee, the furniture retailer will showcase more than 200 Samsung and SmartThings-compatible devices within vignettes, demonstrating to shoppers how smart devices can fit within their home and business spaces, according to the announcement.
- The retailer will host a grand opening event for the in-store experience on Oct. 26. Ashley plans to open more Connected Home Experience displays across its stores, the retailer said.
Dive Insight:
Samsung’s partnership with Ashley marks the tech company’s continued investment in smart home gadgets. The company ventured into smart home technology in 2018 when it debuted its Galaxy Home device. Today, its SmartThings app integrates with products from brands like Bose, Ring, Sonos and Honeywell.
Now, to showcase more smart home devices for consumers, Ashley plans expand its Connected Home Experience across its network.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with Samsung to elevate the home furnishings industry in ways that have never been done before,” Chad Spencer, CEO of the Dufresne Spencer Group, the largest licensee of Ashley stores, said in a statement. “With our shared commitment to pushing the boundaries of design and technology, this partnership will transform the way consumers experience their homes.”
Samsung has also created a new SmartThings Interactive Home on its website where shoppers can preview how connected devices can fit into their lives.
“Samsung wants to remove the barrier to shopping for smart technology. Together with Ashley, we’re making it possible to visualize how furniture and electronics come together to make a home a better place,” Allison Stransky, chief marketing officer at Samsung Electronics America, said in a statement.
Earlier this year Ashley Home, an affiliate of Ashley Global Retail, acquired Resident Home — owner of the Nectar, DreamCloud, Awara and Siena brands — for an undisclosed sum.
