Microsoft store (bricks & mortar stores) discussion

[jefferiestubes8]

Yes Microsoft opened their first one in 2009.

I just came across a new one today that opened in Boston this week. and actually have a total of 22 retail stores in the USA.

See photos at the link above.
With Microsoft making hardware such as their new tablet Surface, upcoming XBOX 720
and new OS (Windows 8, Windows 8 RT)
for mobile phones OS: Windows Phone 7.5, Windows Phone 8)
they actually have more to sell than physical boxes of DVD-ROMs of Windows 7.
They totally ripped off the Apple stores in design and environment.

Microsoft has said it plans to open 75 more stores by 2014.

Of course, Microsoft is chasing Apple, which has more than 320 stores, including 86 abroad.

They really need a large presence that advertising alone cannot do. I guess this is a good way to try to take market share from Android & Apple for the tablet and phone market along with selling all things for their new gaming hardware in the next 18 months.
What do you guys think about their stores and did they really ripoff Apple's design?

 

[Spock/Uhura Fan]

I'm not sure they ripped Apple off completely, but I can see the similarities. Imitation is the biggest form of flattery, I've heard.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

They are opening one here on Long Island, in an upper scale mall. Think it will be open in a few months. As a Apple person, I'm actually looking forward to it opening. I wanna see the Surface in person.

 

[ngc7293]

You know, Apple is supposed to be that Niche brand that only a certain person buys from and that the average person buys a computer with Microshaft on it. So what does the 'Shaft do? It builds an elegant Niche store that is so unlike any computer store that has ever sold their type of products before. The reason is that the big brand Microshaft wants in on what Apple has (or at least a part of). I don't think Microshaft likes it when someone else dominates a market so they do everything they can to move in to dominate that market.

We'll see if Apple can survive what Microshaft can do.

 

[Stephen!]

With Microsoft making hardware such as their new tablet Surface, upcoming XBOX 720
and new OS (Windows 8, Windows 8 RT)
for mobile phones OS: Windows Phone 7.5, Windows Phone 8)
they actually have more to sell than physical boxes of DVD-ROMs of Windows 7.

Are these small stores, or is there a lot of empty space? It doesn't seem like Microsoft would have enough products to justify an entire store.

 

[clint g]

You know, Apple is supposed to be that Niche brand that only a certain person buys from and that the average person buys a computer with Microshaft on it. So what does the 'Shaft do? It builds an elegant Niche store that is so unlike any computer store that has ever sold their type of products before. The reason is that the big brand Microshaft wants in on what Apple has (or at least a part of). I don't think Microshaft likes it when someone else dominates a market so they do everything they can to move in to dominate that market.

We'll see if Apple can survive what Microshaft can do.

In all fairness to Microsoft, the purpose of a company is to TRY and dominate a market. Domination = more money.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Are these small stores, or is there a lot of empty space? It doesn't seem like Microsoft would have enough products to justify an entire store.

Boston:
Discrepancy. I read 2,400 square feet but also read :
At 3,600 square ft.

Minneapolis (Bloomington,MN) Mall of America
The store, which is 8,600 total square feet, is directly opposite an Apple store.

orlando
4,470 sq ft.

 

[Holdfast]

You know, Apple is supposed to be that Niche brand that only a certain person buys from and that the average person buys a computer with Microshaft on it. So what does the 'Shaft do? It builds an elegant Niche store that is so unlike any computer store that has ever sold their type of products before. The reason is that the big brand Microshaft wants in on what Apple has (or at least a part of). I don't think Microshaft likes it when someone else dominates a market so they do everything they can to move in to dominate that market.

We'll see if Apple can survive what Microshaft can do.

Apple is hardly a niche brand; it occupies between 15-20% of the massive smartphone market and 60+% of the rapidly growing tablet market. It's also the largest company (by market capitalisation) ever. Around 2000, your characterisation of the corporate dynamic between Apple and Microsoft would have had some currency (though it's worth noting that Microsoft actually saved Apple with a large financial investment back in the late 90s). Now it reads like the worst kind of 1980s Nintendo vs Sega playground debate, complete with "amusing" renaming of one of the companies.

Microsoft is still a massive company itself, of course, but in many respects, and for all its continued dominance in the PC and productivity software markets, it is a small & upcoming player in the markets Apple is a dominant player in (smartphones & tablets). They're both very good at what they do, and each drives the other on. And Apple is just as ruthless as Microsoft in trying to maintain market control through the courts as well as the marketplace (just ask Samsung this weekend).

All large companies naturally attempt to dominate & own markets; that's what they're designed to do. Google is another one to add to the list in this regard. It's up to regulators to ensure this healthy competition doesn't raise antitrust issues. It's easier to dominate in the tech industry because new markets are constantly being created and first-mover advantage is massive.

What's really exciting to me is the emergence of these really big alliances spanning software, hardware, search and telecommunications. You can imagine a (loose) Microsoft/Nokia keiratsu developing, a Google/Samsung one, and an Apple-centric one too. It'll be interesting to see how Sony, Amazon and eBay react to these changes. We've been promised convergence ever since the 80s, but I think this decade we'll actually see it happen. The market opportunities are enormous, and the technology is finally getting there. I'm excited to see whether Windows 8 & Surface works to turn around Microsoft's stagnant share price fortunes (I'm currently debating whether to take a punt on its sucess in terms of increasing my relative exposure to MSFT vs AAPL). It's a high-risk/high-reward product for Microsoft, but I have a hunch it's going to work out OK (at least, relative to current market expectations/fears). Microsoft stores are part of that strategy.

 

[NebulaClassGuy]

Yes Microsoft opened their first one in 2009.

I just came across a new one today that opened in Boston this week. and actually have a total of 22 retail stores in the USA.

See photos at the link above.
With Microsoft making hardware such as their new tablet Surface, upcoming XBOX 720
and new OS (Windows 8, Windows 8 RT)
for mobile phones OS: Windows Phone 7.5, Windows Phone 8)
they actually have more to sell than physical boxes of DVD-ROMs of Windows 7.
They totally ripped off the Apple stores in design and environment.

Microsoft has said it plans to open 75 more stores by 2014.

Of course, Microsoft is chasing Apple, which has more than 320 stores, including 86 abroad.

They really need a large presence that advertising alone cannot do. I guess this is a good way to try to take market share from Android & Apple for the tablet and phone market along with selling all things for their new gaming hardware in the next 18 months.
What do you guys think about their stores and did they really ripoff Apple's design?

I haven't seen a Microsoft store yet, but I really wish one would open locally. As for supposedly ripping off Apple's design, big deal... everyone is ripping Apple off... have you seen the areas of Barnes & Noble where the Nooks are sold? It's the same kind of contemporary minimalist waste of space, with white tables showcasing Nooks.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

They totally ripped off the Apple stores in design and environment.

Yeah, no one could figure out the right mix of broad welcoming glass frontage, brightly colored walls, searing lights, display tables, and hardwood or tile floor until Apple made the breakthrough and revolutionized the industry.

Except for every store in every mall everywhere.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

broad welcoming glass frontage, brightly colored walls, searing lights, display tables, and hardwood or tile floor until Apple made the breakthrough

The style and height display tables and the Guru bar (cough...Genius Bar...cough) I feel are total Microsoft copycat moves.

As for supposedly ripping off Apple's design, big deal... everyone is ripping Apple off... have you seen the areas of Barnes & Noble where the Nooks are sold? It's the same kind of contemporary minimalist waste of space, with white tables showcasing Nooks.

Stores such as the cosmetic retail company Sephora have a black & white minimalist look but look totally different from an Apple store.
The Nook Boutique inside Barnes & Nobles is mostly wood and brown wood tones. It doesn't compare to Apple in my opinion.
If you were referring to the 2010 period of time when Barnes & Nobles had white tables to display Nooks I still disagree.
When you sell a totally different industry of products then it doesn't matter but when you are also selling tablets, operating systems, keyboards, software then you are in the same industry as Apple and a major competitor.