David Flynn16 July 2009, 10:38 AM
The first Microsoft store will open in time for the Windows 7 launch this October – with some located “right next door to Apple stores”, the company promises.
Microsoft is coming to Main Street, with plans to open a chain of retail stores
a la Apple and Sony. The first shops will appear in the US in time for the launch of Windows 7, with the likely locations being hot and hip CBD locations or what Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner termed as “lifestyle centre” retail environments.
Turner also said that “We’re going to have some retail stores opened up that are opened up right next door to Apple stores”.
Microsoft's concept retail store, opened last year at its Redmond HQ, doesn't suffer
from pesky customers cluttering up the place
Microsoft is no doubt hoping that its first stores will see lines of customers queueing up pre-dawn to buy a copy of Windows 7 when the new OS debuts on October 22nd, to tap the same valuable media exposure as it did for the launch of Windows 95, and of course as Apple has enjoyed for the iPhone.
However, while the stores will be packed with Microsoft’s software, PC accessories and of course the Xbox and Zune, the company has not revealed the level of involvement by its hardware OEM partners.
One option would be to operate in the same way as the clothing and cosmetics counters of department stores, with individual areas sublet by and staffed by premium brands such as Dell and HP.
However, Microsoft is more likely to set up ‘experience’ centres around broader Windows concepts such as digital photography, movie making and mobile computing, to effectively showcase but not to sell partner hardware.
That approach could also more effectively promote niche solutions such as Windows Home Server, which has failed to gain traction in the mainstream.
Nor has the name of the stores themselves been revealed. Will this be The Microsoft Store? Windows Live Style? Blue Screens’R’Us?
Frippery aside, Microsoft has been putting some solid planning into this move. Earlier this year Microsoft hired David Porter, who previously spent 25 years with US retailer Wal-Mart, to run the operation. Microsoft COO Kevin Turner is also a Wal-Mart veteran.
And last year Microsoft created what it described as a ‘concept retail environment’ at its Redmond campus. The dummy store was fully decked out with stock, shopping carts and checkouts, although it wasn’t intended to actually sell anything.
At the time Microsoft denied this was part of a strategy to to open retail stores, claiming the project was more about “taking a leadership role” to help its retailers understand they could market Microsoft products and consumer technology more effectively.
But now the company has clean on its plans. “There are tremendous opportunities ahead for Microsoft to create a world-class shopping experience for our customers” says David Porter, “helping consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases”.