Razer opens its first London flagship store

Singapore and Hong Kong-backed gaming company Razer has opened a flagship store in London’s West End as it tries to boost its global reputation.

Backed by Singapore fund Temasek with Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and founded by Singaporean entrepreneur Min-Liang Tan, Razer has expanded from its gaming-hardware roots into software and financial services.

The new RazerStore in London is the first in Europe and the brand’s largest yet with a 3700sqft footprint. It follows stores in Las Vegas, and San Francisco in California, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong and another in Taipei. RazerStore London opened to long queues.

Like Razer’s other stores, the British venue is almost all black with contrasting bright green throughout.

“All in all, it’s a decent retail experience, quite dissimilar to the Apple retail stores, but in a familiar kind of way,” observed Adrian Ip of WCCF Tech in a commentary posted online.

“Where Apple is all light colors and airy atmospheres, Razer knows its audience and is primarily targeting it at hardcore gamers so thumping music, black paint, and RGB everywhere is the order of the day.”

Visitors can try out all the Razer goods including mice and keyboards designed for gamers, headsets and the brand’s Blade-series laptops. Accessories and a small range of apparel complement the offer.

In the downstairs area of the store, guests can play the game Fortnite, using Razer equipment, and there is a streaming booth.

Ip said he was told by staff that RazerStores offer the brand a physical presence in major cities to market their goods as well as get more people hands-on with their gaming equipment.

“This makes them less reliant on reviewers, but these are no glory loss-leaders: the stores have quickly reached profitability after launch”.

“Given London’s location as a major global city with a large and wealthy population, it seems likely that this shop should reach profitability relatively quickly too.”