Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Microsoft Planning 75 New Retail Stores to Take on Apple
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Ya'll know MS actually has some very impressive stores and all the tech people to make it a quality experience, right?
Windows 7 is a superb OS, goes to show MS can make quality products, and there's videos on YouTube evident of how pretty slick the MS stores are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0QFasiwGNo
Again, competition is good
For t3h LOLz, I'd LOVE to go into one of these places with my PowerMac G5 and ask for a replacement logic board and act as if it's totally normal..then film the place with an iPhone!
Somebooooody, please do something like that?
But still, I think MS really did it well.
Windows 7 is a superb OS, goes to show MS can make quality products, and there's videos on YouTube evident of how pretty slick the MS stores are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0QFasiwGNo
Again, competition is good
For t3h LOLz, I'd LOVE to go into one of these places with my PowerMac G5 and ask for a replacement logic board and act as if it's totally normal..then film the place with an iPhone!
Somebooooody, please do something like that?
But still, I think MS really did it well.
Can't tell what location in Wyoming that is. Is it Cheyenne or Gillette? Either way, why would they put a store in BFE instead of, maybe, Salt Lake City?
Location is everything...
I can't relate to your experience in London, but here in southern California, up until now, I have never seen any of the companies you've mentioned use the "same" style of the Apple store like Microsoft is doing.
Now to be fair, gkarris, pointed me to an article showing Sony revamping their SonyStyle stores to take on more of Apple's style which I do applaud because it makes business sense for Sony to do so with their large number of products.
Nobody is arguing that businesses adopt/incorporate the latest trends/style in their marketing and advertising. This is common practice. In advertising and marketing design, that's considered brand and product placement. Tiffany's spends lots of money on their marketing, store design, and graphic design so that no one would even consider that they were the same kind of store as a bargain diamond dealer.
But as you admitted, Microsoft is blatant in their copying Apple's style down to the colored t-shirts and lanyards. Even, the Sony Store revamp retains their own brand identity in their application of Apple's retail style.
http://www.sonyinsider.com/2011/03/31/first-sony-store-opens-in-los-angeles/
To incorporate a competitor's design style to the extent that you could simply replace the competitor's logo and products with your own, is simply diluting your company's own brand identity and marketing placement. It's like "throwing in the towel" in marketing.
What I see with Microsoft's approach to the retail store concept is that they're just applying the superficial visual style of Apple's retail store style instead of figuring out how to maximize the underlying business strategy behind the retail store concept.
Apple created the retail store because at the time their products were not being presented adequately or in volume and Apple was in danger of shutting it's doors if they didn't figure out how to change that situation.
Microsoft is not in the same situation or facing the same problems. Opening Microsoft Retail stores doesn't make any business sense. Add to that, copying the "style" of your long-time competitor, it comes across as a poor (yet costly) attempt by a corporation to remain relevant in the public eye. By having little to no distinction in style, Microsoft's marketing strategy is not building up their brand identity and not making it more distinguished from their competition. Therefore, what is their marketing goal or strategy here?
With the broad availability of Microsoft productions at retailers worldwide and online, why does Microsoft need to open a retail store in the first place? The biggest complaints against Apple when they first opened their retail store was from their existing resellers. Apple as the manufacturer was directly competing against the retailers who were trying to make a living seller their products. Apple had to do it because they knew they had to rethink how their products were sold to general public or face extinction.
Once again, Microsoft is not facing the same situation that Apple faced then so the question arises...again. Isn't Microsoft, the manufacturer of Office et al, now competing with all it's resellers? Eating into their market share? Taking a bite out of there annual sales?
So, what is Microsoft's goal with opening 75 more retail stores with the same look of an Apple store? How does that make my life better? That's the real question this article raises.
Sorry all the electronics stores by you look the same to you. That IS boring.
Really..I mean sure it isn't Apple, but Microsoft would be an incredibly proud place to work at, as well, I know I would be as I type this on a PowerMac G5 (as in, no PC).
It's not like Vista was just released or anything, lol.
MS is wealthy enough to not at all care about their stores making money - at this point for them, it's all about presence...
Actually, I would rather work at the MS Store by me over the Apple one...
Talking with others who went to the MS Store, they really liked it.
Why the big push, now, with new stores if they are doing horribly?
Hmmm...I think you missed the previous paragraphs I wrote about marketing and brand identity which relate to your point about presence. My end question wasn't about whether their stores make money.
I understand your point about presence. I don't think they're going to achieve that goal through this effort for the reasons I gave previously.
Do you believe otherwise? If so, I would love to hear why.
BTW, I actually do like the idea of other companies taking a page from Apple and making it their own not because I'm an Apple fanatic, but because I would love to see a competitive marketplace again where many companies are growing and introducing new and innovative products and not just a few companies.
A Sad Story
Microsoft is really hitting bottom on innovation and originality....
Unfortunately they have been doing so for the better part of a decade.
Microsoft is really hitting bottom on innovation and originality....
Unfortunately they have been doing so for the better part of a decade.
No, they will be magical.
But when Apple builds a store there it will be a great idea, right?
It really is humorous how everyone here get all twitchy whenever Microsoft does something. Why are you so afraid of Microsoft?
Yeah, I saw that too and wondered???
There must be a hunting lodge nearby that the MS executives love to frequent. Or maybe they want to "OWN" one market at least.
The company that invented "vapor ware" needs a future place to sell their slate computer... you know, the one Ballmer was fumbling with a few years ago at CES. Or maybe they will have the bugs worked out of their pizza box computer by then.
Attachments
Taking care of customers
Microsoft's primary customer base is businesses. They should put a strong technical sales force in the field calling directly on businesses getting accounting, CRM, SQL stuff in use. Storefronts make no sense.
They should build a retail operation around the X-box. Game emporiums that attract kids from miles around. Do W7 phone too, but mostly X-box, because it's flashy, exciting, and proprietary. Let the telcos do most of the Win7 phone stuff.
None of the rest of it matters. No-one cares about Windoze any more. It's like the remote that comes with your TV. it's just there. I'll probably live it with no matter how crappy it is.
Microsoft's primary customer base is businesses. They should put a strong technical sales force in the field calling directly on businesses getting accounting, CRM, SQL stuff in use. Storefronts make no sense.
They should build a retail operation around the X-box. Game emporiums that attract kids from miles around. Do W7 phone too, but mostly X-box, because it's flashy, exciting, and proprietary. Let the telcos do most of the Win7 phone stuff.
None of the rest of it matters. No-one cares about Windoze any more. It's like the remote that comes with your TV. it's just there. I'll probably live it with no matter how crappy it is.
"Twitchy"? No, that's just us laughing at Microsoft's latest act of desperation. It really is entertaining for us long term Mac users to see them reduced to this. Running scared and desperately trying to copy a company they once didn't consider important enough to regard as a rival.
In fairness...
if Apple setup stores right next door with lines of Macs all running Windows....
.... MS will probably still sell more laptop cooling bases.
And rightly so.
if Apple setup stores right next door with lines of Macs all running Windows....
.... MS will probably still sell more laptop cooling bases.
And rightly so.
I've been to the current one in Oak Brook, IL. It's actually kinda cool. Of course, it looks like a knock-off Apple Store, but the screen that runs across the whole store is pretty neat.
Also, the ginormous 100''+ screen in the back for playing Child of Eden on Kinect was sweet!
I've walked past it a few times. It always seems that there are more employees than customers there. Perhaps that will change when Nokia launches their Windows Phones (as I'm expecting the company to make a big push since they have bet their future on it).
Anyway, Microsoft has had some good radically new ideas, but the problem has been that they don't go through with them, and yet at the same time they stick with unsuccessful strategies for too long. Remember the Courier rumors and videos? That could have been a decent challenger to iPad, but instead they cling to the belief that tablets should be running full desktop OSes, even after more than 10 years ot unsuccessfully trying to sell Windows tablets.
Last edited:
Honestly, I can't think of a reason I'd want to visit a Microsoft store in person except for support for my XBox 360.
Microsoft has done a great job at advertising and comparing their OS versions and Office suites online; the majority of their offerings are software that wouldn't require a brick & motor location. Maybe they'll join up with a larger francise in order to offset the cost of space...?
Microsoft has done a great job at advertising and comparing their OS versions and Office suites online; the majority of their offerings are software that wouldn't require a brick & motor location. Maybe they'll join up with a larger francise in order to offset the cost of space...?
Microsoft is going to have to get really cunning. Apple has the wonderful iPads and iPhones. Microsoft doesn't have those popular devices. To a lot of visitors to the apple store, the MS store will be 'boring'. To the hardcore video game people, though, I think the MS store is where it's at.
I'm sure Microsoft knows what they're going up against.
I'm sure Microsoft knows what they're going up against.
I hate the Apple store. If you want to buy anything...even a phone case...you have to wait for some idiot to come over and check out for you. Why cant i just grab a case, walk up to the counter and pay!! I don't know how many times i have walked in, tried to buy something and ended up waiting forever. I usually end up leaving with nothing and buying on line from someone else, and cheaper.
And if this offended anyone please feel free to hit that little "down" arrow there. I know some people take if personal when there is something negative said about Crapple.
And if this offended anyone please feel free to hit that little "down" arrow there. I know some people take if personal when there is something negative said about Crapple.
And yes, Microsoft can afford for the stores to lose money. Not for very long, but they can afford some time of losses.
The problem I have with their store and the 'answer bar' is that my experience at the 'store' in San Diego was that they could answer none of my questions and kept pointing me to an 800 number to get answers. Big miss on their part. Microsoft needs to equip those automatons with the means to ANSWER questions of a fairly complex nature. They sell a product, and products, that end up pissing of the customers with the incompatibilities and random behaviour and to have someone shlep to the store's 'answer bar' and be told to shlep all their stuff back to their house and call an 800 number isn't going to play well with the public.
Microsoft is walking a very thin line between being cute by 'taking on Apple' and being cheeky and blowing their own heads off.
The only thing that was drawing people into the 'store' was the X-Box Kinect demo blaring in the common area outside the 'store'. The Apple store just down the mall had more people in it, and had more people carrying bags from it.
Time will tell how this works for Microsoft. I predict this eventually going the way of the 'Gateway Country' stores. *POOF* they are gone...
The problem I have with their store and the 'answer bar' is that my experience at the 'store' in San Diego was that they could answer none of my questions and kept pointing me to an 800 number to get answers. Big miss on their part. Microsoft needs to equip those automatons with the means to ANSWER questions of a fairly complex nature. They sell a product, and products, that end up pissing of the customers with the incompatibilities and random behaviour and to have someone shlep to the store's 'answer bar' and be told to shlep all their stuff back to their house and call an 800 number isn't going to play well with the public.
Microsoft is walking a very thin line between being cute by 'taking on Apple' and being cheeky and blowing their own heads off.
The only thing that was drawing people into the 'store' was the X-Box Kinect demo blaring in the common area outside the 'store'. The Apple store just down the mall had more people in it, and had more people carrying bags from it.
Time will tell how this works for Microsoft. I predict this eventually going the way of the 'Gateway Country' stores. *POOF* they are gone...
I think part of it is to encourage impulse buys. Occasionally I go there for one thing and end up walking out with a few more items. 'As long as I'm waiting' seems to encourage some people to buy stuff just because...
It's a pretty interesting tactic... It's how I got my first Magic Mouse. Now I have three...
I think part of it is to encourage impulse buys. Occasionally I go there for one thing and end up walking out with a few more items. 'As long as I'm waiting' seems to encourage some people to buy stuff just because...
It's a pretty interesting tactic... It's how I got my first Magic Mouse. Now I have three...
I can kinda see how that works. Guess i just get too aggravated and leave. I just hate when i know what i want, and i go get it. Now i have to wait around until someone is free to "ring it up".
You don't know who true that really is. A couple of years ago they tried to copy Opera flash style mobs. Then they were so desperate for foot traffic they gave away free concert tickets, then did a concert giveaway again, all for foot traffic numbers. This is truly sad and I wonder if any one will be going a sales comparison between a Microsoft Retail Store and an Apple Retail Store, in the same geographic location.