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Microsoft Planning 75 New Retail Stores to Take on Apple

Vol7ron said:
The answer bar. Please....They will just sit there and tell you that it is something wrong with the hardware and talk to the Manufacture. Apple's retail stores are a success because they sell what they make.

But hey, best of luck to them. Competition is only good!
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True, and that was the biggest thing I hated about MS in my PC days. Or should I say the biggest thing I hated about owning a PC. (this is of course in the early 90s and before I became more skilled at repairing my own machines)

It would never fail to have Adobe, MS, Lotus, etc. telling you to contact the other manufacturer to fix your problem. it was rather pathetic. Then you have Dell shipping you parts and instructing you on how to take your machine apart over the phone. :mad:

Even as recent as last year I had issues installing CS5 onto a co-workers PC and the installer crashed after 30 minutes of churning away. MS told us to contact Adobe, Adobe said it was the hardware, back and forth and back and forth.

Michael Scrip said:
Isn't every store a Microsoft store?

Plus... are they gonna sell HP and Dell computers?
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I have the same question. It's not like you find Macs sitting in every single Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Staples, Office Depot, HH Greg's, Sams Club, etc. etc.
 
a Microsoft store... full of what?

Well, Microsoft needs better products if they want to have successful stores. I could see them using the stores to display their windows phones... but what else? A bloated, overpriced operating system? Some select nice computers made by other manufacturers? The whole concept is kind of weird to me, until they revamp their product lines.
 
Microsoft just doesn't get it, do they. They are a 1990's phenomenon and they will stay 1990's. Who wants to visit stores that sell corporate software that was developed in the 90's? Who is interested in a brand that is in survival mode?
 
I wonder if their staff will wear t-shirts that have printed on them:

ctrl+alt+del

That would be really sweet.
 
The thing is for me is I'm trying to figure out the business sense for the Microsoft Stores. It's almost like they just plain aren't needed. We've already seen a number of computer-related stores, in the past 6 years, which pretty much sold the exact same things, already go out of business. I think the market already trimmed down to certain major non-specialty outlets which can also sell lots of PCs.

The problem I forsee with their Help service (which is the only thing I see their stores having that other stores wouldn't have (and at a discount)), is that the PC platform in no way can help with 80% of the issues people have with the PC. It seems like the only reliable help you can get from them is how to use Microsoft Office and questions about the Windows operating system functions. Yep, they'll know about registries and be able to check through there. I wish them good luck with everything else, though. There's sooooo much (literally millions if not billions of things) that is out of Microsoft's hands, and their version of the "Genious" Bar becomes the "We'll personally get you started on the good internet and phone call run around, but at least you talked to a real person first" Bar.

Specialty stores, whether Apple or not, are generally for those who build everything about the unit. That is. If they issue both the hardware and software. An Appliance for which the company solely makes, which includes interior electronics.

PCs, and one of the reasons they dominated so much, have so many different manufacturers involved. Thus millions of different drivers, hidden hardware incompatibilities, driver version incompatibilities based on exact hardware configs (like something that doesn't have a problem unless you combine *this specific motherboard model* with *This specific video card*). If they manage to pull off an actual helpful Helpdesk in all except a couple of basic functions (We teach you how to use Office, Windows), then I'll be impressed. They'd have to educate folks to do so on a scale that's practically exponentially higher than what the Apple Store Genious Bar needs.

But my initial thought is that Microsoft *so* didn't need to make Microsoft stores. It does so very little for them for so much. This is MS literally throwing money away to make barely a bit of difference in their marketplace for which so much of that money could be put to R&D, etc. Heck, one major reason for MS being able to give Sony a run for their money, in the console business, is that Sony threw too much unnecessary stuff in way too many baskets, and they lost their way for a while. MS was being smart at keeping things tight and not spread themselves too thin. And MS PR representatives have been quoted to say just that. Now they want to spread out everywhere at once, reversing their policy. Only *recently* do they really want to push hard into the Phone market. They now want to break hard into their own Portable gaming machines, in the same vein. They now want stores like Apple. I fear they'll suffer like Sony did, on the deal; and I think some of their divisions will have a harder time recovering from the lost business, from falling back on their laurels, than Sony.

So in a way, I'm not balking at good competition. I'm just voicing concerns that this wouldn't be a good smart venture for Microsoft at this time. They spread themselves too thin at the wrong time and it'll kill some of their markets. Let's not forget other companies are gunning for Microsoft at the same time.
 
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Wyoming?

I wonder how accurate that map is. It looks like there is a planned store somewhere in Wyoming. Casper, perhaps? If so, it seems odd that a store would open there, but it doesn't appear that any store is to be opened in Omaha, Denver, Albuquerque, Boise, or Salt Lake City.

Are there actually 11 Microsoft Store open? Hmm...I recall hearing about the first store opening, but wasn't aware (and haven't seen) any others.

So when is Apple going to add an Apple Store to Wyoming? :)
 
A Windows Store? That sounds fun.

Apple made stores out of dire need. For years they suffered great, but rather invisible, small dealerships and big electrical stores that would ignore the couple of Macs shoved in the corner or say untruths about them. A huge percentage of their potential market had probably never touched a Mac.

Everyone knows what a crappy Windows PC is unless they've been living on Mars.

Microsoft is a joke now. Unless they can leverage the WIndows monopoly Microsoft has nothing to offer. Windows phone? Zune? Bing? Even WIndows upgrades are dreaded, especially after Vista.

If you've spent 30 years churning out crap people only purchased because they felt there was no option it's hard to suddenly become a lean, mean innovator.
 
Microsoft is back and better than ever



Macist said:
A Windows Store? That sounds fun.

Apple made stores out of dire need. For years they suffered great, but rather invisible, small dealerships and big electrical stores that would ignore the couple of Macs shoved in the corner or say untruths about them. A huge percentage of their potential market had probably never touched a Mac.

Everyone knows what a crappy Windows PC is unless they've been living on Mars.
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Cool Story Bro
 
SolRayz said:
These will be some empty stores...what's the point really.
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I expect the opposite.

You will get a bunch of people asking thousands of troubleshooting questions.
Then you will have others who want things fixed that have yet to get patches.
I also predict they will get a handfull of apple product questions "why does my zune not work on a mac" "how does this compare to the ipad" "etc."

I don't really think they put much thought into it, but if they do not execute properly and promptly, I expect there would be high tense in the atmosphere.

I'm genially worried about the "Answer Desk" Anyone who has worked IT understands that windows is a pain to work with, I mean they have to have hired people to constantly be helping with technical problems. Imagine how many people will go to the direct from the source, and it's free :eek:

If they start charging to get support at the "Help Desk" it was do to that ^
 
foiden said:
The thing is for me is I'm trying to figure out the business sense for the Microsoft Stores. It's almost like they just plain aren't needed.
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I agreee. There's one in the Mission Viejo mall that's always empty, yet the Apple store is always packed with people even though there are 3 other Apple stores nearby. I really thought that MS planned to open a few select stores and figured they'd lose money but expense it as advertising. Opening 75 stores in less populated places makes me think they don't see it this way. I think they plan to dump tons of money into it and hope it pays off in the long run somehow, which is normally their strategy.

I went into the MS store when it first opened and I was thinking, "I don't get it". They have laptops for sale, but they are of course made by other companies. Their shelves have copies of Windows and Xbox games, but you can get those anywhere and it was hardly exciting. The only cool thing I've seen there is when the Kinect first came out. It just doesn't make sense when they don't really make hardware but have a large, expensive store.

And for the record, I like Windows 7 and I even do .Net deveopment for work. I think MS has done well recently with Windows 7, Bing, and the Kinect, but the MS stores seem like a fail.
 
4D4M said:
"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.
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No, you guys fear them. Microsoft is far from desperate or on the verge of going out of business, and that is why you are afraid. As far as copying companies, how about Apple has become the establishment that they once abhorred. Remember the original mantra? Now it's all about money money money. But that's ok, because it is Apple. Quite hypocritical if you ask me.
 
My bet is on a whole new product to sell. If MS wants to compete they have to have more then what they offer now or in the very near future.

So my bet is a new product like a tablet, some sort of new zune and on top of that a new OS (win8 or up) otherwise it would be foolish to open that many stores in a declining windows/pc world.
 
Another example of Microsoft / companys directly copying off of Apple

Im going to the "Answer Desk" and asking if they can recomend a iMac model for me.
 
iMaci7 said:
Another example of Microsoft / companys directly copying off of Apple

Im going to the "Answer Desk" and asking if they can recomend a iMac model for me.
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and then you can be like "Oh wait this aint the mac store?" "gosh this looks so similar don't you think" and then at the very end be like "So what do you guys sell here?" :D

record it, put it on youtube and i will watch it to see their expressions :rolleyes:
 
specialbuddy said:
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?
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Good to see a few other people were wondering about the marker in the middle of Wyoming.
 
MS made that error on the map of the US to show loyalty to China given that the US economy is failing.

It is the hope of MS that this show of loyalty to China will cause MS to actually start making more money from software sales in China than the profits made in the Netherlands.
 
edenwaith said:
I wonder how accurate that map is. It looks like there is a planned store somewhere in Wyoming. Casper, perhaps? If so, it seems odd that a store would open there, but it doesn't appear that any store is to be opened in Omaha, Denver, Albuquerque, Boise, or Salt Lake City.

Are there actually 11 Microsoft Store open? Hmm...I recall hearing about the first store opening, but wasn't aware (and haven't seen) any others.

So when is Apple going to add an Apple Store to Wyoming? :)
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I was wondering, I was like... NONE IN DENVER? Really? That's like opening a bunch of BBQ stands and skipping Kansas City!

Then I noticed they have one here, in Lone Tree... SOUTH of DTC... Guess they didn't have Cherry Creek or 16th Mall Street money x.X
 
Fire up the copy machines again

Coming to a strip mall near you! Geez I hope they never fire this guy.

Ballmer.gif



WindowsSimon.gif
Windows 8, copy the notes.
 
I have three thoughts on this:

#1: Why?
#2: I am guessing that it is just a matter of time before we will see a Q-Tips Store and Clorox Store?
#3: Why?
 
iMaci7 said:
Another example of Microsoft / companys directly copying off of Apple

Im going to the "Answer Desk" and asking if they can recomend a iMac model for me.
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That's probably a good idea. Some of the Geniuses aren't capbable of recommending anything.
 
ZipZapRap said:
OMG OMG, you mean Apple invented the COMPUTER STORE now??

Thanks for that bit of revisionist history!! Whodathunkit?
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Steve invented the computer and computer store. And the processor. And hard drive. And electricity. And the light bulb. And the airplane. And the wheel. And fire. And sliced bread. He is one amazing dude.
 
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