Razer, an established maker of gaming-related gear, has unveiled its first concept store in the U.S. at a mall in San Francisco.
The store is an interactive experience that invites visitors to “touch, play, stay.” The store is in the Westfield San Francisco Centre at Fifth and Market streets. It’s part of the company’s attempt to make Razer into an international brand.
The store will sell Razer’s advanced gaming offerings, such as PCs, peripherals, fitness devices, audio headsets, and broadcast products. It also has apparel and software. Customers are invited to stay all day and play games on site. Razer already has stores open in Taipei, Taiwan; Bangkok, Thailand; and Manila, in the Philippines. The company is following in the footsteps of other major brands like Apple, Microsoft, and Sony in opening its own retail spaces.
The store in San Francisco has 20 gaming stations for public use, including Razer Blade gaming laptops. Razer plans to have a variety of events for players on May 21. Razer claims that its community of gamers consists of more than 1 billion worldwide. The company began in 2005, and it is backed by Intel Capital, IDG-Accel, and Heliconia Capital Management (Heliconia), a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore investment company Temasek.
“San Francisco is a unique global epicenter of creativity, technology, and entertainment, and it’s our hometown, so creating a phenomenal environment for gamers here was a very special endeavor,” says Min-Liang Tan, cofounder and CEO of Razer, in a statement. “We are happy to say that the SF RazerStore foots the bill in every way, and we are excited to open our doors to our fans in the Bay Area.”
