International Store Openings: lululemon, Samsung, Yum

* Lululemon (Vancouver, B.C.) has opened the first of two the stores in Greece through its franchise partnership with Amsterdam-based Arion Retail Group. The first store opened May 23, in the Kolonaki district in central Athens, while the second will debut June 12 at the Golden Hall shopping mall on the city’s north side.

The Greek stores mark the brand’s third new market entry of the year, following Poland and Hungary in March. It also plans to expand to 2026 Romania, Austria and India by the end of this year. Overall, it has 800-plus stores, including roughly 470 in the U.S. and 70 in its home country of Canada.

* Samsung Canada (Mississauga, Ont.) has unveiled plans to open three additional Samsung Experience Stores in that country in these regional malls: at CF Market Mall in Calgary, CF Carrefour Laval in Laval, Que., and CF Richmond Centre in Richmond, B.C. Those new locales will join six existing Canadian ones already operated by the Korea-based electronics giant.

The stores offer Samsung’s latest Galaxy AI features, mobile devices, wearables, tablets, PCs and connected technologies, along with on-site technical support, device troubleshooting, and shopping options including buy online, pick up in-store capabilities and extended aisle access to Samsung products.

* Yum China Holdings Inc. (Shanghai) announced it has rolled out KFC’s light-meal concept store to 300-plus locations in China. Dubbed, KPRO, the licensee said it is on track to reach 600 locations by year–end. Opened as a side–by–side module with traditional KFC stores, KPRO leverages the brand’s in–store resources and requires lower investment and operating costs than a standalone format, Yum China said in a news release. “This business model effectively cross–sells KFC members and customers, driving incremental sales and profit for the parent KFC stores,” the company’s release states.