Microsoft Corp. said it hired a former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executive to help the company open its own retail stores, a strategy shift that borrows from the playbook of rival Apple Inc.
"The purpose of opening these stores is to create deeper engagement with consumers and continue to learn firsthand about what they want and how they buy," Microsoft said in a statement.
The move is a sign of the deeper role consumer-technology companies are playing in the retail business, despite the many risks of straying from their traditional businesses of making hardware and software. Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., encountered widespread skepticism when it first began opening its own retail stores in 2001.
Link to full article ([url]http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123448293075579777.html[/url])QuoteMicrosoft Corp. said it hired a former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executive to help the company open its own retail stores, a strategy shift that borrows from the playbook of rival Apple Inc.Quote"The purpose of opening these stores is to create deeper engagement with consumers and continue to learn firsthand about what they want and how they buy," Microsoft said in a statement.
The move is a sign of the deeper role consumer-technology companies are playing in the retail business, despite the many risks of straying from their traditional businesses of making hardware and software. Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., encountered widespread skepticism when it first began opening its own retail stores in 2001.
Does this mean that there will be Microsoft branded PCs? It could cause them trouble (and anti trust complaints) from current PC makers.
They're desperate.
They're desperate.I just hope MS does not clone Apples annoyingly cult-ish approach.
They're desperate.I just hope MS does not clone Apples annoyingly cult-ish approach.
Yes, MS has enough cult members, you amongst their number. No need to swell the number.
They're desperate.
Really? Is that the result of reading your tea leaves or do you have an inside scoop you'd like to share?
They're desperate.I just hope MS does not clone Apples annoyingly cult-ish approach.
Yes, MS has enough cult members, you amongst their number. No need to swell the number.
A couple of things. The announced layoff numbers, though as pleasing they are to the anti-MS crowd, constitutes a very small portion of the MS workforce (89k+ employees worldwide). I believe the term layoff may be a misnomer as it looks like what MS is doing is allowing attrition to eliminate old titles and work descriptions (my speculation and not based on any public statements by MS).
Currently, MS's ROI and TCO are very strong:
If this is desperate--as one poster called it--then I can't wait to see 'confident'.
I also control your vertical and your horizontal...
Top 11 Things You Won't Find at the Microsoft Store
11. DVDs of The Pirates of Silicon Valley and Antitrust
10. A John Hodgman bobblehead
9. Steve Ballmer action figure with Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers! Action Jump
8. Windows ME commemorative plate
7. "I found it on Google" T-shirts
6. Bill Gates voodoo doll
Wait a minute, I thought this store was going to be actual physical retail outlets selling tangible products?
SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it is planning to open its first two retail stores in Arizona and California this fall.
The software maker said Tuesday it signed leases at shopping centers in Mission Viejo, Calif. and Scottsdale, Ariz. The Shops at Mission Viejo is already home to an Apple store. The other location, Scottsdale Fashion Square, does not have a competing Apple Inc. shop.
The software maker confirmed details reported earlier by CNET News.