Microsoft to compete with Apple!
Microsoft today announced that they would be taking on computer retailer Apple, with their plans of opening a number of retail stores in close proximity to existing Apple Stores later this year! One thing about this has me cautious. Apple Stores market and sell their own product, the entire thing they sell is theirs, from the Computers to the Operating system, add on peripherals and even some of the extra software. Where as Microsoft only really has the Operating Systems and Software. It makes you wonder how are they going to really compete!
Apparently the stores will be designed to “showcase” the Microsoft Products to help build brand awareness than to actually serve as a retail distribution location. But this leads to the question… WHY? Why open a store to try and take Apple head on when your only really selling the idea of your brand. Does Microsoft really need it’s own retail location when there operating system and software is sold through pretty much every electronic retail outlet alive in the world. How does opening a store to show off the operating system, the Zune or Microsoft Office. All of these products are well known and I doubt that opening a specialized store will help improve anything.
Sure Microsoft could sell PC’s but what is the point? If they stocked certain brands / hardware they aren’t selling their own product and the stores would just become another computer retail outlet, apposed to Apple Stores / Resellers where the only product is Apple’s product. People go to the Apple store because they want good service, help and advice when buying their Machine, and they know they will get it from a specialised store such as the Apple Stores, but with a Microsoft Store, they aren’t really going to be anymore specialised in selling the machine than say a sales guy at Harvey Norman.
Who knows what Microsoft will do but I think these stores will be a failure, oh well it can just go next to my PC that Vista has killed.