Samsung and Italian coffee brand Illy form global partnership

Samsung has formed a global multi-year partnership with Italian coffee brand Illycaffè which will see Samsung tablets and other devices introduced to Illy cafes and Illy coffee served in Samsung’s stores and showrooms.

Illy Samsung
Photo: An Illy store ‘Digitalized by Samsung’.

The companies say the deal is designed to pool the resources of both brands in order to leverage each other’s strengths and brand equities: Samsung in technology innovation and multimedia content and Illycaffè’s expertise in food and beverage retail marketing.

They add that the tie-up will bring to life “a totally new generation of coffee shops around the world”.

The first iteration of the partnership will appear in the Illycaffè boutique cafe and store on London’s Regent Street.

Samsung will provide the store with a selection of Galaxy mobile, tablet and other smart devices for coffee drinkers to play and browse with as well as a mobile app and other “innovative solutions” specifically designed for Illycaffè’s products and stores. Samsung will also recruit a team of on-site “Samsung Angels” to help customers interact with the products.

The partnership will also include the opening of more Illycaffè stores at more locations around the world, including Samsung showrooms, by the end of 2014. These stores will be marked as “digitalised by Samsung” on shop signage.

Younghee Lee, executive vice president of global marketing at Samsung’s IT and mobile division, says: “We seek innovators like Illy who share our commitment to enhancing people’s daily lives to be our partners. Together we look forward to taking this collaboration to the next level in the near future by opening it up to new areas and additional shared projects and to driving creativity, innovation and passion over a great cup of coffee.”

Recommended