Blockbuster Set Top Boxes and Microsoft Retail Stores?

[MacRumors]

When Apple first launched their retail stores in 2001, there were numerous predictions why Apple would fail in this market:

"I give them two years before they're turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake"

Of course, Apple's Retail Stores went on to be a huge success:

Saks, whose flagship is down the street, generates sales of $362 per square foot a year. Best Buy (Charts) stores turn $930 - tops for electronics retailers - while Tiffany & Co. (Charts) takes in $2,666. Audrey Hepburn liked Tiffany's for breakfast. But at $4,032, Apple is eating everyone's lunch.

Two reports this past week indicate that Microsoft and Blockbuster are both trying to imitate this success with retail initiatives of their own. Last week, Fudzilla claimed that sources close to Microsoft have detailed plans to open Microsoft retail shops featuring their products. The site speculates that Microsoft could feature their software, alongside their hardware accessories, as well as the XBox 360.

Today, Blockbuster announced that they are bidding to acquire Circuit City. The goal would be to provide additional integration between Blockbuster's content services and consumer electronics:

In the letter, Mr. Keyes implies that he wants Circuit City to sell Blockbuster’s movie download services, trying in some way to replicate the closed loop strategy of Apple, which makes hardware and software, sells media online and has an ever-growing chain of retail outlets.

This announcement comes in the wake of rumors that Blockbuster is also developing an AppleTV-like set-top box for streaming films directly to televisons.

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[Eidorian]

In before Microsoft branded computers. I can imagine the XBox (Microsoft's Mac) and input devices.

[amac4me]

Blockbuster buying Circuit City doesn't make much sense to me.

[sminman]

I walked into my neighborhood Blockbuster last night and it was completely different. They had a sign on the door to come in in the morning and drink coffee and watch movies.

They also had free wi-fi and a restaurant in it. They are really trying to compete with Netflix and maybe Apple soon.

[Unspeaked]

Blockbuster and Circuit City: two failing companies looking to fail even faster together.

[markfc]

Ooooh a Microsoft store, boxes and boxes of Microsoft Office and unsold brown Zunes, I can barely contain the excitement...

[MacFly123]

I honestly don't see a Microsoft store working, but with all this news things are getting very interesting at least! Come on Apple, keep up the goodness and take us to the future we have all been dreaming of

[martychang]

Hey, give Blockbuster some credit. They see DVDs and physical movie rental/distribution on the way out and are trying to find a way adapt rather than die. Circuit City acqusition may or may not be the ticket but too many companies are just dying out with the times.

[DTphonehome]

I would love to see an MS store...it would fail so hard it would make the Dell and Gateway stores look like winners.

[ArtOfWarfare]

Hasn't Microsoft already saturated their markets though?

Stores that sell video games seem to be doing a fine job selling the 360.

And when it comes to operating systems or processing suites, we all know (and loath) Microsoft has just about everyone.

I think Apple's stores are great because they really create some brand awareness.

Oh, and hands on with a Mac is great. LOL, let's see some people go into an MS store just to test drive Vista. I'll bet most people in there will be people who only ever knew Macs just verifying that they were brought up on the superior OS.

[Eraserhead]

Originally Posted by Eidorian

In before Microsoft branded computers. I can imagine the XBox (Microsoft's Mac) and input devices.

Microsoft can't sell computers, if they do why will anyone partner with them again? And it'll force Dell and HP to start making Linux good.

[JPark]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

...sources close to Microsoft have detailed plans to open Microsoft retail shops featuring their products. The site speculates that Microsoft could feature their software, alongside their hardware accessories, as well as the XBox 360.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Good luck with that one, guys.

[liven2]

"I give them two years before they're turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake"

[Eidorian]

Originally Posted by Eraserhead

Microsoft can't sell computers, if they do why will anyone partner with them again? And it'll force Dell and HP to start making Linux good.

I remember reading a story about the Microsoft branded computers idea being tossed around for third world countries.

[applekid]

Microsoft doesn't really have anything "cool" to show off with a retail store. You're going to sell MS Office and Vista?

The Zune is kind of going up in popularity, of course there is the Xbox 360, and some of their peripherals are nice, but I don't quite think you need a store to showcase and sell any of those things. Maybe you can buy a nice Surface coffee table from them?

Microsoft isn't THAT crazy.

[megfilmworks]

These two companies (BB and CC) are a mess and will just be a bigger mess if they merge.
Everyone will come out with set top boxes, so again they are not the leader but the 4th or 5th company to slowly wake up to the furture.
Late to the party and disorganized. If you own either sell now while you have some equity left.

[twoodcc]

everyone is always trying to copy Apple, or at least it sure seems that way. we'll see if this really happens

[grappler]

Well, maybe if microsoft were not run by a bunch of dickheads, people might like them enough to want to go in their store. Seriously.

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

This is interesting news. I don't know how MS stores will work since so many windows compatible things as well as the xbox are sold in so many other places. The MS stores will be competing with these other stores and could possibly be shooting themselves in the foot.

As for the Blockbuster/Circuit City deal, this could be a really good or really bad for both parties. If they come up with something that is innovative and competes well, it will be good for everyone including the consumer. If there idea flops, they are the only ones who lose because the consumer still has Netflix and Apple. If I were Blockbuster I'd be a little nervous with Circuit City with whole Divix (and I'm not talking about the Codec) flop.

Just my thoughts.

[amac4me]

the hit at Microsoft Stores would surely be the following Steve Balmer videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKTnQYScpyk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA6h3f_bfYU



Oh yeah, the following ad would be shown to sell Zunes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FncIL...eature=related

[SandynJosh]

Hahaha! I got this image of crowds of people flocking to Micro$oft stores just to get help to get their peecees working again. The only potential buyers being the gamers looking at Xboxes, comparing acne drugs, and talking about what kind of killer gamer box they will someday have once they get a job.

Circuit City's sales tanked a couple years ago when they sacked all their top performers and kept the drones, so I don't know what the Blockbuster Nazis think they are buying.

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

I guess if they had something like the "Genius Bar" a MS store would always be packed out.

[electronboy]

Imagine the traffic they will generate:

MS Office updates every 4 years!
Windows updates every 5 years!

Oh the excitement! Imagine the hoards of people who will bring XP boxes in for their semi-annual operating system reload and virus cleanup.

[cnote678]

Wow, I never thought I'd see the day. A store full of overpriced software that you can download illegally, showing off the worst OS ever distributed, wannabe-iPod's, lame MS-branded mouses and a game system. It'll be Game Crazy + Staples. Yay!

As for Blockbuster, kudos for trying to take the changing market in stride but acquiring Circuit City isn't going to get them anywhere fast, except to the front of the bankruptcy line.

[amac4me]

Originally Posted by kornyboy

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

I guess if they had something like the "Genius Bar" a MS store would always be packed out.

They wouldn't need Geniuses because all they would ever recommend to customers would be the following: "just reboot"