Almost always, after a few bites at Nagarjuna in Bangalore, I make a trip to Samsung Opera House, which is a stone’s throw away. It’s a place that’s always packed with youngsters and techies, looking for the next big gadget. Samsung’s iconic flagship store is celebrating its fifth anniversary.

At the intersection of Brigade Road and Residency Road, the iconic address has seen many changes. This used to be the place where iconic MGR and Sivaji Ganesan movies were once screened but then it fell out of favour and the future was uncertain. That’s when Samsung stepped in, took control and turned it into what has been a milestone in its journey.

Samsung Opera House is not just a store that sells mobile phones. It’s an experience zone. It’s very hard to describe the experience of being always connected but it can be shown at the Opera House. For the South Korean company, it has been a good way to connect with millennials, who turn up in large numbers at this address, and share their needs and pain points.

There are zones to show what connected living is all about. Activities and spaces such as photo booth wall, music zone, VR rides and fitness zone bring people together. Every important launch Samsung has — be it the Galaxy S23 series or a new range of QLED TVs — this is the perfect place to showcase it. In fact, after the launch of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, a beautiful photography workshop was conducted at Opera House.

The connection with the audience goes beyond gadgets. The popularity of South Korean culture, in the form of K-pop, K-drama or food, has helped Samsung connect better with youngsters. Being centrally located in Bangalore, it has emerged as a hub for Gen-Z enthusiasts passionate about K-pop. There have been several interesting events to showcase cultural ties. For example, the fourth anniversary of Opera House marked its big step toward bolstering Indo-Korea cultural ties by organising a K-pop themed cultural and musical event including both Korean and Indian K-pop artistes.

And how can we forget the moment when the place got its Starbucks earlier this year? With the launch of Starbucks, which offers outdoor and indoor seating, Samsung ensured the Opera House experience resonates even more with young minds.
What next for the 33,000sqft standalone property, which during the British era hosted plays and operas? Plenty because Samsung always has plenty of new tech chops to offer.