Secretlab Expands Into Physical Retail With LA Experience Store and Best Buy Displays

Buying a gaming chair has always involved a degree of guesswork. Product pages can list measurements, materials and adjustment options in exhaustive detail, while reviews can offer useful impressions, but neither fully answers the most personal question: does the chair actually feel right when sitting in it? Secretlab is taking a significant step toward addressing that issue in the US, with a new Los Angeles retail location and dedicated displays planned for 15 Best Buy stores from November 18.

The company's first named retail location, the Secretlab Experience Store, is opening at 8464 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. It will give visitors an opportunity to test the company's chairs, desks and accessories face to face before committing to a purchase. Shoppers will also be able to book personalized consultations intended to help them understand how various products and combinations may suit their workspace or gaming setup.

Alongside the LA store, Secretlab products will begin appearing in dedicated spaces at participating Best Buy locations. Those displays will be available in stores across California, Florida, Colorado, Virginia, Washington, Idaho, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Texas. The initial rollout is deliberately limited to 15 locations, but it marks a notable move for a brand that has largely built its business through direct online sales.

A response to the try-before-you-buy problem

Secretlab co-founder and CEO Ian Ang said the move reflects recurring customer feedback gathered at the company's event booths over the years. The company has appeared at pop-ups connected to major events, including Comic-Con and World Championship gatherings, where prospective buyers could sit in its products rather than simply inspect promotional images.

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"One thing we've always known at the back of our minds is there's a difference between seeing our products online and trying them out to have that utmost confidence before you buy," Ang said. "We've heard this feedback repeatedly from the event pop-up booths."

That distinction matters particularly in the premium gaming-chair market. A chair can look ideal in photos and still prove unsuitable because of its seat firmness, lumbar shape, armrest position, recline feel or overall fit. Even buyers who carefully compare dimensions may not know how their own posture, desk height and preferences will interact with the product until they spend time in it.

For that reason, physical demonstration areas could be meaningful beyond simple product visibility. They provide a chance to compare different models directly, evaluate materials and decide whether a chair's support profile is comfortable. Customers considering a larger desk purchase can also get a more practical impression of its scale than they would from a product listing or room-planning graphic.

Secretlab is not entirely new to in-person retail. Its Singapore headquarters has served as a drop-in destination where visitors can ask questions, try products and purchase them. The LA Experience Store represents the first time the company has established a named retail site of this kind, however, making it an important test of how its broader physical-retail ambitions may work in the United States.

What shoppers can test at the new locations

Best Buy visitors will be able to try the Titan Evo chair, assess the feel of the NanoGen model's cushioning and see whether the Secretlab Atlas fits their intended setup. The company is also using the retail expansion to put more of its ecosystem in front of consumers, rather than treating a chair as an isolated purchase.

That approach is central to Secretlab's pitch. Many gaming and home-office spaces now involve multiple interdependent pieces of furniture and equipment: a chair, a desk, a monitor setup, cable management and accessories. A buyer may find that a desk looks suitable online but is not the right height or depth for their existing chair, monitor arms or preferred seating position. In-store demonstrations make it easier to consider those choices as a complete arrangement.

Ang pointed to small design decisions that are easier to notice through hands-on use. He cited built-in desk controllers designed to avoid being bumped and the shape of the OTTO base, which is intended to work with Secretlab's chairs. Such details may not be the centerpiece of a marketing campaign, but they can affect day-to-day convenience once a setup is used for gaming, work or both.

"There are so many small product details that we obsess over," Ang said. "These are many small improvements to user experiences that we don't market, but customers can feel the overall experience once they get to try them."

The LA location is also expected to carry upcoming launches, giving customers an opportunity to see new products in person as they arrive. Ang suggested that special-edition collection releases could be particularly appealing in a showroom environment, where shoppers can inspect finishes, colors and themed details directly rather than relying on renders and photographs.

Consultations aim to simplify major purchases

One of the Experience Store's more distinctive services will be its bookable consultations. Rather than requiring every shopper to navigate a range of configurations alone, the sessions are meant to offer a closer look at the engineering and product thinking behind the lineup. That could be useful for customers uncertain about how different furniture pieces will feel together or which chair variant best fits their needs.

Gaming furniture is often purchased after considerable research, but even well-informed customers can face uncertainty. Seat comfort is subjective, and desk accessories may make more sense when demonstrated in a fully assembled environment. A consultation cannot turn comfort into an objective measurement, but it can give a shopper more time to ask questions and physically evaluate options before spending on a premium product.

The launch also arrives as Secretlab begins its Black Friday sale, placing its physical expansion during a major shopping period. The timing gives nearby consumers a rare chance to compare products in person while seasonal promotions are active, although availability and specific offers may differ by product and location.

An early test for a broader retail strategy

While Secretlab has identified the LA store and Best Buy rollout as the immediate focus, its longer-term expansion remains undecided. Ang acknowledged that physical stores create a different set of business challenges from online commerce, particularly when it comes to making the economics of a retail footprint work.

"Physical retail is a whole different playing field, and the toughest part is probably making the unit economics work," Ang said. "It's a new experience for all of us, but we'll do our best to make it work."

For now, the company is starting with the 15 Best Buy locations. Ang said Secretlab hopes eventually to reach additional outlets, though no further territories, store count or timetable has been confirmed. The Melrose Avenue Experience Store's future is likewise not settled beyond its current lease. When that lease ends, the company may extend its stay or potentially shift the concept to another location.

That cautious language is appropriate for a retailer testing a new model. A showroom can solve an important consumer problem, but it also brings costs and operational demands that direct-to-consumer brands do not face in the same way. The combination of a company-owned experience center and placements inside an established retailer gives Secretlab two ways to learn: one controlled environment for consultations and full product displays, and another built around the existing Best Buy shopping audience.

Launch event details

The West Hollywood Experience Store opens November 18. To mark the occasion, the first 50 visitors at the special launch event will receive an exclusive Prize Pass, offering a chance to win a Secretlab MAGNUS Evo desk. Dedicated Secretlab areas at participating Best Buy stores are also scheduled to begin appearing on November 18.

For gamers and PC users in the supported markets, the expansion offers something that has been unusually difficult to find with online-first furniture brands: the ability to sit down before buying. Whether the initial locations lead to a wider network remains to be seen, but the launch gives prospective customers a more tangible way to judge products whose value is often defined by long-term comfort rather than a quick glance at a specification sheet.