Samsung Opera House, Bengaluru

Samsung India announced the reopening of its exclusive brand stores — Samsung Smart Cafes & Samsung Smart Plazas — across the country starting this week. The decision to open the Samsung Smart Cafes and Smart Plazas is in conformity with government regulations and the zonal guidelines and safety norms effective May 4.

Smart Cafes are Samsung’s exclusive smartphone and accessories stores whereas Smart Plazas offer an exclusive and complete range of consumer electronics as well as smartphones. Samsung India has also extended validity of Smart Club points, Samsung’s exclusive brand store loyalty program till 30th June, 2020 for points expiring between March – May 2020.

Samsung believes in keeping the consumer at the core of everything we do. Accordingly, all Samsung Smart Cafes and Smart Plazas will follow social distancing and sanitization guidelines to safeguard the health and safety of our customers, employees, vendors and partners.

As of now Samsung Smart Cafes and Smart Plazas are opening in a phased manner in the orange and green zone districts classified by the government. Before opening for consumers, all Samsung Smart Plazas and Smart Cafes are getting sanitized. Hand sanitizers have been made available at the stores, making it mandatory for Samsung experience consultants to use them at all touch points, especially at the entry and exit doors of the stores.

To strictly adhere to government’s social distancing guidelines, both Smart Cafes and Smart Plazas have been demarcated to ensure a minimum distance of 1.5 meter. Additionally, at all stores, employees are encouraged to have staggered lunch timings. Samsung experience consultants are also being trained to follow hygiene and safety advisories. Samsung experience consultants and consumers at Smart Cafes will be provided with hand gloves.

To ensure the safety of the employee manning the cash counter, cashiers have been instructed to wear masks at all times. Customers will be encouraged to use digital contactless payments and swiping machines will be sanitized before being given to the customer to ensure the highest standards of hygiene is maintained in Smart Cafes and Smart Plazas.

Only a limited number of customers will be allowed within the store at any given point to avoid crowd formation. At all our stores, Samsung experience consultants have been instructed to greet customers with folded hands to avoid physical contact.

Samsung India remains committed to stand with the people of India in its fight against this pandemic and limit its spread by implementation of these measures across all its stores.

But before IT came to the city, and before startups took it over, it was the original Garden City of India known for wide roads, pleasant climate, and beautiful old buildings that the British and the Maharaja of Mysore gave it.

Even today, if one looks around, heritage buildings remain the soul of the city.

In a study commissioned by Samsung on Bengaluru some time ago, a third of the respondents felt the city’s heritage buildings and architecture, which is a mix of colonial and art deco buildings spread across the city, defined its character.

Then, a sizeable 77% of millennials and 63% of non-millennials said they would want to restore heritage buildings and see them being converted into public spaces for art, culture and other events around technology and startups to hone the dreams of its residents.

Bengaluru is also where Samsung runs its biggest R&D centre outside South Korea, and houses the World’s Largest Mobile Experience Centre, Samsung Opera House, in a beautiful British-era building right in the heart of the city.

People of Bengaluru are passionate about their heritage, about their culture, which is why over the years, they have come together to protect heritage buildings that so define it. One such building that heritage lovers have helped protect is the 150-year-old iconic Balabrooie Guest House. There are many such instances of civil society movements to protect heritage.

“People in Bengaluru savour their heritage in a very passive way, not wearing it on their sleeve, but in their hearts,” says Harish Bijoor, who is as passionate about all things heritage in Bengaluru as he is about marketing, his main calling.

Mohandas Pai, chairman of Aarin Capital Partners, who led the IT revolution in the city, remembers his days as a student at St. Joseph’s College. He recalls bunking classes with friends and going for noon shows at Opera House on Brigade Road, which ran as a theatre those days.

Opera House is now Samsung Opera House, after Samsung India restored the British-era property over a period of two years and re-opened it as the World’s Largest Mobile Experience Centre. Today its façade continues to don its magnificent original look and feel while on the inside, a modern experiential space has been developed with extensive use of technology.

See how Samsung reinvented Opera House

Samsung Opera House is slowly becoming a playground of ideas and art and culture, with events being organized around fitness, photography, gaming, music, movies, food, stand-up comedy, technology and startups at the sprawling plaza area outside the building.

What’s inside Samsung Opera House

The Samsung model is a great one to follow, says Bijoor. “Keep the exterior the way it was, and jazz up the interiors. I want to see more such old structures and markets being developed like Samsung Opera House,” he says.

“A city has to preserve its past, its culture, and heritage. Having classical architecture shows continuity in planning,” adds Pai.

Mohammed Ameen, who operates Samsung Opera House says when the building was reopened in 2018, he heard from many old-timers their recollections of Opera House in the olden days. “Many people came up to me and told me about the movie they had seen here. Someone said he had got his ‘date’ here. They love that it’s back in action, even if it is in a new avatar,” he says. “I am happy Samsung has created something for the GenNext of Bengaluru. I am looking forward to co-work with Millennials and GenZ in the days to come,” he adds.

The city buzzed with excitement as the iconic Samsung Opera House, the historic marvel and the world’s largest mobile experience centre, was decked up for yet another spectacular event for K-pop fans.

Organised by fan group Armylights, the day-long event had fans in euphoria as the city drowned in Korean pop music. Besides K-Pop performances, there were other activities scheduled such as a special screening of popular Korean programme Music Bank, VR-driven activities, quizzes and interactive games which met with active participation from young fans. An exclusive exhibition was of items owned and used by Korean pop band celebrity was also organised. There was also a fashion show that was organised showcasing the impeccable Korean couture.

Young K-pop fan Mallika Mehra couldn’t contain her excitement as she danced to her favourite music. “Being here, feels like a dream! I have enjoyed every activity and made new friends. This has been a Sunday well-spent,” she said.

There are nearly ten K-pop fan clubs in the city with close to 3,000 fans and are growing at a rapid pace. Keeping in mind, the increasing popularity, Samsung has introduced a wide range of Korean content on the My Galaxy App, including blockbuster K-drama titles like Jugglers, Queen for Seven Days and Manhole along with over 750 songs by bands such as Exo, BTOB, and MONSTA-X.

The world’s largest mobile experience centre is home to innovative devices, gaming zones, IoT studio and virtual reality rides.

We made a video so that you can experience it here. But we would still recommend a real ride soon.

In the early 1900s, Opera House was known for its dance, music and theatre performances and was frequented by British soldiers and officers. It was later converted into a cinema theatre and became a popular cultural hub. By the 1980s, the popularity of the Opera House started to wane and it was soon a dilapidated building.

Samsung, India’s biggest brand of smartphones and consumer electronic products, took over the building in 2016 and kicked off a major restoration work. The focus was to retain the original structure while transforming it into a millennial hub with its innovations. It was to be a gift to the people of Bengaluru, who love their city so much.

It was a pleasant afternoon and the iconic building was buzzing with excitement. The stage was set and it was almost time for journalists, media and guests to see the phone in flesh and blood, for the first time ever.

HC Hong, President and CEO Southwest Asia launched Galaxy Note10 amidst heavy cheer from the audience. “The new devices will appeal to millennials with their sleek design, stunning colors and power packed features that will keep them going all day,” he said.

Galaxy Note10 is aimed at the slash generation that often balances between two jobs and believes in work-life flow. This was the running theme through the entire event as young millennials from Samsung grabbed eyeballs with their impressive presentations. The young team at SRI-B the largest R&D centre outside Korea, wowed the audience as they unveiled several innovations created by their team, under Samsung ‘Make for India’ and ‘Make for the World’ initiatives.

Meanwhile, the audience could barely contain their excitement to go hands-on with this wonderful piece of tech, particularly the S-Pen that works like a magic wand. As the experience zone was opened up, the enthusiasm and appreciated for the device peaked.

The journalists experiences the phones for the first time and had a lot to say about the devices. One of the audience members said, “It’s a very smart step to diversify such an iconic series into two phone sizes. This is definitely going to make consumers’ lives easier.”

“This launch combined the legacy of the Opera House with the legacy of the Note series. That’s what I loved about the experience,” said another.

Galaxy Note10+ will be available starting INR 79,999, while Galaxy Note10 is priced at INR 69,999. Both the devices will come in three exciting colors. While Galaxy Note10+ will be available in Aura Glow, Aura White and Aura Black; Galaxy Note10 will be available in Aura Glow, Aura Red and Aura Black.