Research in Motion may have plans to expand its retail presence worldwide, reports from England indicate. Though the company's BlackBerry smartphones constitute one of the most popular brands, RIM has only so far maintained a small number of shops within its home country of Canada. The first location outside of regional borders should be in London, say staff from a flagship Selfridges department store, situated on Oxford Street.

The London RIM outlet will allegedly open inside Selfridges in the next couple of months, operated under the aegis of Carphone Warehouse. Shoppers should be able to pick up BlackBerries and related accessories; RIM has refused to comment, though, on what it is currently labeling "rumours." Expanded retail presence could however serve as a useful counter to stores from Nokia, and more likely Apple, which boosts iPhone sales through hands-on sales and testing in a global retail network.