According to GigaOM, who thankfully summarizes references an article behind a paywall at The Information, we now know that Samsung has just made a key hire. Tim Gudgel may not be a household name, but he’s supposed to be one of the people behind the way Apple builds their stores. Gudgel is actually the second Apple Store employee Samsung has hired, earlier the Korean company successfully courted Michael Forrest and put him in charge of making “Galaxy Stores”.

But is retail even important? Yes. You or I may buy our phones off the internet, but most folks like to go into shops to pick up and feel various products. Samsung wants their products to be presented as the best in the business, which is they’re buying space inside larger stores like Best Buy. It’s one thing for T-Mobile or Sprint to have a table out with a bunch of phones, it’s another thing altogether to have a dedicated Samsung area.

And then there’s the whole advertising angle. The sheer fact that a Samsung store exists in a shopping mall or on a prominent streets makes the Samsung brand stand out. You don’t see HTC or LG stores anywhere. And Sony only has a handful of stores left. When people see those blue letters in Samsung’s logo while doing their Christmas shopping, it makes an impact on their next smartphone purchase.