When Apple created its multi-million dollar retail stores, with their gleaming staircases, free Internet, Genius Bars and glass/metal architecture, they broke the mold for how computers should be sold.
Now Microsoft is trying its hand, and not only are plans for official Microsoft branded well underway, but the company has hired one of Apple's retail experts.
The first Microsoft stores will reportedly open in the US before the end of the year. Microsoft has listed job vacancies, and while there has been no official announcements about where, Microsoft has said some stores will be located "right next door" to Apple's stores.
The Apple success formula
Interestingly, Apple's retail store success can be traced back to a reported list of nine "success factors" that the company reportedly focused on when building its grand plan for its current worldwide flagship stores.
Among the reported success factors listed by Steve Jobs for a compelling technology retail shop [paraphrased here]:
- Lots and lots new product
- A hugely recognisable brand name
- Efficient shipping and movement of orders
- Impressive store design
- A "fantastic experience"
Plenty of people have written about the appeal of the Apple store. In Australia they includes stores in George Street Sydney, Chadstone Victoria, and Robina in Queensland.
Apple's approach includes employees wearing colour-coded T-shirts, such as Orange-shirted "Concierge" staff, and a Genius Bar for technical questions and product support. Apple's retail division head Ron Johnson has described it as "like one giant window to Apple."
Service could be one challenge for Microsoft - offering something similar for the much larger and more diverse PC hardware market would be a mammoth undertaking. If they could pull something like this off, it would certainly be a drawcard.
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| Not emulating this: Microsoft says it is not creating retail stores for the same reason as Apple |
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| Crowds flock to the opening of an Apple store. Microsoft wants its stores to make the benefits of Microsoft products "clear, simple and straightforward" |
The Microsoft Vision
So what will you experience walking into a Microsoft store?
Here's the official vision, from Microsoft PR: "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."
"Deeper engagement" sounds similar to the experience offered by Apple stores, which offer training, hands-on opportunities to use the ecosystem of Apple hardware and software.
Here's another spin on the concept, from Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner: "We're also working hard to transform the PC and Microsoft buying experience at retail by improving the articulation and demonstration of the Microsoft innovation and value proposition so that it's clear, simple and straightforward for consumers everywhere."
But Microsoft is not building its own stores for the same reasons as Apple, according to this interview.
So what would make the Microsoft store experience compelling enough to draw the kind of crowds that had people lining up at night on Sydney's George Street for Apple's Australian store opening?