Microsoft to open retail stores next to Apple’s

Published on July 16th, 2009

In a keynote speech at the Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner told partners that the corporation is planning to open the first of its retail stores next to existing Apple stores…

“As we progress on our retail strategy there will be scenarios where we have stores in proximity to Apple,” a Microsoft spokeswoman told ZDNet. “We are on track to open stores in the Fall timeframe. Beyond that we have no additional details to share.”

It’s unclear whether the Microsoft stores will be selling strictly Microsoft hardware (e.g., the Zune or Xbox 360) and software, or whether it will also be selling products from third-party companies. In the past, Microsoft has said the purpose of the stores was to build the company’s brand name by connecting with customers.

Har! Now that is fracking funny.

30 users responded in " Microsoft to open retail stores next to Apple’s "

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# 1 Todd Peterson said, on July 16th, 2009 at 12:48 am

“As we progress on our retail strategy there will be scenarios where we have stores in proximity to Apple,” Great! Makes it easier for disappointed Microsoft customers to find a computer that actually works!

# 2 amodedoma said, on July 16th, 2009 at 2:08 am

M$ only fails when they try using marketing technique instead of their habitual methods to compete.
What they couldn’t buy they copied, what they could’t copy they stole, what they couldn’t steal they destroyed.
The result is they no longer have anyone else’s success to canibalize within the PC industry and have turned to Apple.
Unfortunately, Apple has their own OS and doesn’t use M$ development tools, so the copy or steal option’s are gonna be much more difficult, and since apple does have it’s own stores M$ won’t be able to form ’strategic alliances’ with distribution centers to force them out.
M$ would have to spend astronomical amounts to make this work, I’m betting the financial crisis will keep that from happening.

# 3 Mikey Twit said, on July 16th, 2009 at 2:21 am

So much FAIL waiting to happen.

# 4 Zybch said, on July 16th, 2009 at 2:43 am

#3, a fail, like say a 5% market penetration for a company thats been around just as long as MS, had all the same opportunities, but ignored or squandered them all away while others capitalized on them to great success?
Hmmm, I wonder which company that would be…

# 5 Uncle Dave said, on July 16th, 2009 at 3:03 am

So, will Vista be on sale in the closeout bin? Can I use their bathroom for a memory leak? Do you enter the Red Circle of Death Room to play with the Xboxes? Will there be a BSD Bar in back to help the customer with his program that for some reason just won’t work on Windows ME? Admittedly, the standard answer will be, “Not our problem,” so the Bar-tenders (all named BOB) won’t have to know anything. Just as if they were still at their old jobs at Circuit City.

I could go on. I got a million of ‘em. Just like MS has versions of Win7…

# 6 ogman said, on July 16th, 2009 at 3:06 am

If you’re out of touch enough to still have Microsoft in your stock portfolio, sell, now!!!

# 7 Paba said, on July 16th, 2009 at 3:24 am

[Comment deleted - Violation of Posting Guidelines. - ed.]

# 8 Hmeyers said, on July 16th, 2009 at 4:27 am

Microsoft is stupid for being baited into a game that Apple is far better at.

And Microsoft is stupid for being baited into a game that Google is far better at.

You know when a company has “jumped the shark” when they continually get talked into games they can’t win — versus the old Microsoft who would define the game own their terms.

# 9 Eric said, on July 16th, 2009 at 4:47 am

I remember a comedy bit from 1980’s radio (a friend was a DJ) about the CBS photocopier. You put a script from a successful NBC show in and out comes the CBS equivalent.

For example:
Put in any script from “The Cosby Show” and out comes “Charlie and Company,” staring Flip Wilson.

Maybe Bill got it on one of his many trips to Hollywood in the early 90s.

# 10 orangetiki said, on July 16th, 2009 at 5:03 am

Yeah I wanna see microsoft have the in store tech support that Apple has. That will be a logistical nightmare, but at least they will have a lot of room in the store because honestly what does Microsoft sell other then software and zunes?

Also a camera outside would be nice. the fanboy slap fights are going to be youtube GOLD.

# 11 qb said, on July 16th, 2009 at 6:01 am

They are back to their 90’s strategy of copy and fight. I guess it’s something they are good at – just not sure if it’s still the 90’s.

# 12 Alex Wollangk said, on July 16th, 2009 at 6:07 am

This is SUCH a phenomenally bad idea. I actually use and like the Windows OS, think Vista got a bit of a bum rap, and am REALLY psyched about Windows 7. (It’s what Vista should have been.) Not that I’m some MS fanboy either. I don’t really care for a lot of MS’s business practices and am completely willing to admit that Windows has flaws and even that it isn’t the best operating system for everyone. (No OS is.)

One problem is that in these stores Microsoft will be competing against the customers who bring in the bulk of their revenue. This is rarely a good idea. If they take a page from Trek Concept Stores it may work out. Trek deliberately makes their Concept Stores not competitive in price. They also aggressively present them to their dealers as examples of retail best practice and keep the details of the operation open to Trek dealers. I suspect that this is not what MS will be doing with these stores.

I suspect that they are going to aggressively market them the way they do everything. Unfortunately this is more likely to alienate their current direct customers since manufacturers have a distinct advantage when setting prices.

Microsoft is the proverbial 800 pound gorilla of operating systems and office productivity software. They keep going into areas where they butt up against existing 800 pound gorillas, but they are the 90 pound weakling. Microsoft really can’t go much further in the areas they currently dominate, so they need to branch out in order to keep growing. I’d recommend they look into markets that aren’t currently dominated by a big player that serves that market well, though. They’re just going to end up taking a hit and not really gaining much.

# 13 MikeN said, on July 16th, 2009 at 6:21 am

Sounds like a good idea. Microsoft has an impressive array of products that are weakly promoted.

# 14 stopher2475 said, on July 16th, 2009 at 8:09 am

Putting your store next to a competitor is actually a pretty common thing in retail, usually when the customer is indifferent and the only factor is how long it takes to get there. In my town all the grocery stores are clumped together. Being right next to the competitor minimizes the average difference in distance between you and your competitor that the customer has to travel.

# 15 LoTechNo said, on July 16th, 2009 at 8:29 am

Bill Gates – “We believe that OS/2 is the platform for the 90s.”

OS/2 stands for Operating System 2. IBM and Microsoft developed MS OS/2, the first version of this multi-tasking 16-bit system that was intended to replace DOS and Windows 3.x. Microsoft took part of the code to develop Windows NT 3.x. IBM continued with the development of OS/2 till 1999/2000 releasing versions 2 to 4, which are 32-bit systems. Versions 3 and 4 were released under the name OS/2 Warp. On December 23, 2005, IBM discontinued OS/2.

Many people think that the lack of interest to this OS is the result of weak North American promotion. OS/2 is more popular in Europe than in the US. Many of the sites that I visited are in Russia or Germany.

# 16 keaneo said, on July 16th, 2009 at 8:35 am

Is that really a Microsoft kiosk – or a solo pissoir?

# 17 qb said, on July 16th, 2009 at 8:37 am

#13 MikeN said “Microsoft has an impressive array of products that are weakly promoted.”

On advertising, partner relationships, and events (about 3500/year) Microsoft easily spends more (like twice as much) than they do on R&D. We’re talking billions here. The Microsoft model has always been to sell through partners – in fact over 90% of their income comes through partners.

They finally have to change their model, that’s what is going on here.

# 18 orangetiki said, on July 16th, 2009 at 9:10 am

#13, #17, This reminds me of an ad I saw once

(It’s an apple ad entitled bean counter)

# 19 furrypotato said, on July 16th, 2009 at 9:34 am

Who the hell would want to visit an MS store ??

I don’t own a single Apple product, but given the choice between the two stores….

Analysts have predicted 40 million copies of windows 7 shipped by the end of 2009 (More than the entire user base of OS X), so why do MS need to bother with this kind of money wasting ?
Just spend the money on TV advertising pointing out that mac’s run on an ugly 40 year old OS with some Apple lipstick applied and is going down a dead-end.

# 20 MikeN said, on July 16th, 2009 at 9:49 am

QB I’m sure they spend more on advertising, Excel, Office, Windows, Windows server, etc. However, many of their products don’t get advertised, and are just sitting on a bottom shelf in a store.

# 21 mctea said, on July 16th, 2009 at 10:33 am

lol!

# 22 deowll said, on July 16th, 2009 at 10:56 am

It’s a stupid idea but then look at the source. This guy hasn’t made many smart business moves in a long time.

# 23 qb said, on July 16th, 2009 at 11:10 am

#20 I’m not baiting here, I’m really blanking on what products you’re talking about. Just some ad budget numbers I know about from trade presses for 2008:

- MS Consumer Products: $400 million
- MS Vista: $300 million
- MS Gaming and Entertainment: $945 million
- Apple’s Entire Ad Budget: $468 million

Note: total numbers for ad budgets in MS 10K do not include Vista, Mobile, and only a small portion of enterprise marketing even though they say it’s in there (buried under partner and events). There may be some overlap between gaming and consumer products in the above numbers (e.g. Zune).

For consumer products, which one’s don’t get the shelf space and support?

# 24 Postman said, on July 16th, 2009 at 11:36 am

Maybe Steve Jobs will have some lower level functionaries call up Balmer and ask him not to open the store.

# 25 dbmuse said, on July 16th, 2009 at 8:56 pm

I hear McAfee will be openning a booth outside Microsoft stores to sell virus protection to those who enter or leave the Microsoft store. Apple stores should include hand wipes for those coming into their stores after leaving Microsoft’s store.
Nothing like bringing down realestate prices in the Apple neighborhood.

# 26 lens42 said, on July 16th, 2009 at 11:47 pm

Seriously, what are they going to sell? Shrink wrapped software at “list” price? Zunes? Will they sell PCs and laptops? – I don’t see how that could work. Who’s PCs would they carry? Will there be “Geniuses” behind a counter to tell you to reinstall Windows when you describe your problem? In-store support works for Apple because they own the whole problem. I don’t see how Microsoft can make this fly.

# 27 OvenMaster said, on July 17th, 2009 at 6:40 am

#5: “Can I use their bathroom for a memory leak?”

Spit take of the day!

# 28 toddt said, on July 17th, 2009 at 7:15 am

Microsoft is crazy for doing this. Their brand is not nearly the powerhouse that Apple’s is.

It seems that Microsoft is not interested in innovation, or trying to predict where technology is going. Their business relies on their install-base. They sit back, and see what technologies take off. They then develop ( or re-brand )their own product for that new market, and rely on their name to sell the product.

Apple: “We bring innovation and clean design to computing.”

Microsoft: “We can do that too.”

This has worked in their software business; especially with Exchange and Outlook. But I don’t think it translates to consumer loyalty outside of the enterprise. I don’t know of many people who buy something because of the Microsoft brand.

In short: The stores are going the way of the Zune.

# 29 Shenzhov said, on July 17th, 2009 at 9:03 am

So if Apple has the Genius Bar, is Microsoft going to have the Fu-bar?

# 30 Rick Cain said, on July 17th, 2009 at 11:00 pm

That will be about as effective as opening a Kentucky Fried Chicken right next to a Church’s Chicken place.
Neither really have what you want, and you pretty much will flip a coin when deciding where to go because be honest, you are lazy.

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