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First MS Retail Stores Will be In Scottsdale, AZ and Mission Viejo, CA
UnknowingFool writes "MS has announced the locations of its first two retail stores. The first one will be located at The Shops in Mission Viejo, CA sometime in the fall. There is an existing Apple store at the location. The second one will be located in Scottsdale Fashion Square in Scottsdale, AZ. That location does not have an Apple store. According to Corporate Communications Director Kim Stocks, the locations were picked because they were 'hot markets,' presumably meaning high traffic. Also, the stores will sell laptops, Zunes, Xbox 360s, MS and 3rd party software. No details on which laptops were provided."
Hey didn't Gateway open retail stores, right before their final demise? This is't really a bad thing then, is it?
...Clippy the Action Figure!
They'll never open the store since they won't dare cut the ribbon.
My webcomic
Working at the Microsoft store in a mall where there's an Apple store would be a painful experience.
Yeah, it'd suck selling 10x the number of computers than the Apple store did. You wouldn't have time to annoy customers browsing your store, like the Apple store does. Also, I'd hate to have to be the one to have to stock the game section. That's a ton of work.
by Mike Buddha -- Someday the mountain might get him, but the law never will.
these stores arent so bad! now when your XBox red-rings, you can form lasting relationships as you return defective unit after defective unit to the same trusty store employees.
Good people go to bed earlier.
I just got back from the Mission Viejo store. They're serving free beer! At least, they said it was beer, I've never had bright-red, fruit-flavored beer served with ice in a glass pitcher before. Anyway, apart from the cherry-flavored sugary stuff they said was beer, the Microsoft store experience is a well-executed, classy affair that calls to mind the most elegant retailers outside the technology sector, from Nordstrom's to Saks Fifth Avenue to Neiman Marcus. There was free beer, and the tranquil, soothing environment makes you feel like you're the only customer in the store (which I'm sure was just a coincidence in my case) and really puts the crowded, noisy atmosphere in the Apple store to shame.
Clearly, Microsoft, under the forward-looking leadership of CEO Ballmer, has taken a bold yet welcome step into the world of luxury retail. Their new storefront strategy looks like a can't-miss proposition. And the beer, did I mention the beer was really good? And it was free, too, I'm pretty sure I mentioned that. Anyway, I look forward to returning, once I've installed these new copies of Vista Ultimate Edition I just picked up. Thanks, Steve!
I can't name too many Microsoft fan boys who are also Apple fan boys. I'd be more worried about the gang violence.
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
Here's pics from two guys who visited a few days ago.
Sorry to give you that impression. We don't think the rest of the world knows the abbreviations for our states. We just don't care whether you do or not.
Scottsdale is full of up-tight white people.
Up-tight white people buy BMWs and Macs.
???
Profit!!!
Wait. . .
What?
Yeah, sorry bro. It happens! I had a mod point to burn. No hard feelings though
And so, with that, the might Woosh bird takes flight.
Kool-aid. He drank the Microsoft kool-aid.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drink+the+kool-aid
Also, when was the last time you saw a laptop with "Microsoft" on the case? Microsoft *still* doesn't make their own laptops, they will *still* be selling laptops from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, etc.
I think the strategy is not too dissimilar to donut chains selling "premium coffee". Instead of selling the usual low-grade commercial blends, they'll sell mediocre-grade coffee but tart up the cups and store displays and use an espresso machine to output crappy coffee.
In short Microsoft's strategy is to give people the impression they're in an Apple Store buying high-quality Apple Products.
Stupidity at its finest indeed.
I expect the real stupidity will be found at the Genius Bar -- "Did you try rebooting?"
The only good part of the store will be the gaming section with it's X-box 360s hooked up to 50" LCD TVs.
.
The rest of the store will suck.
.
I wonder if they are going to have someone dress up as clippy so that the children can beat them with pinata bats?
Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
Gee, they're locating near Apple stores.. they could just point them over there.
Would be interesting to hear from people who actually go to one of these stores.
I'd happly walk into a porn store wearing nothing but shorts and sandals and report back to you. But an MS store? I'll have to buy a trenchcoat and fedora to go with my black glasses.
Yuck!
Trolling is a art,
I thought one thing was a bit odd. When I walked up to the store, the front doors were closed. On the door is the following: "By opening this door you agree to abide by our End Shopper License Agreement. Detailed terms of the agreement can be found inside at the back of the store".
#DeleteChrome
I think the proper word to use is "offer" rather than "sell" when it comes to Zunes.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
There's just so many jokes to make here I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll go with the non-obvious...
Unfortunately there's only one joke for me to make here. It starts with the World Health Organization, and ends with Orchard Supply Hardware. It's kinda short, but if you get it, it's actually pretty damn funny.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Mac: Hi, I'm a Mac Store.
PC: Hi, I'm a Microsoft Store.
Mac: Hello, PC, wow your store has a very similar feel to the thousands of Mac Stores that we have had open for a number of years now.
PC: Um, no we are nothing like your Mac Stores. You have a Genesis Bar. I have a Guru Bar. Totally Different.
Self proclaimed wannabe geek. You know how it is. Most of us who read this stuff probably fit in that category.
Thankfully for them, they probably won't have to do it for too long before having to find new jobs.
"I like systems, their application excepted", George Sand (French)