Microsoft is still trying to make its presence known in the retail store field, by aggressively building its stores near Apple’s existing retail locations. They will open 11 new stores in North America in the near future.
The first Microsoft Store opened in Scottsdale, Ariz., in October of 2009, attempting to replicate some of the great success Apple has had opening its own stores across the world. The Microsoft Stores borrow ideas from Apple, including a “Guru Bar” akin to Apple’s Genius Bars where employees assist customers, and Microsoft even attempted to hire away some Apple retail employees for its own operations.
Now, Microsoft’s official retail website advertises that 11 new stores are “coming soon” across North America. Of the 11 stores, 10 are to be located near existing Apple Stores.
Apparently Microsoft is still looking to attract the “confused” customer who might stumble into their stores while searching for the Apple Store.
The 10 new stores that will be near present Apple locations are:
- The Village at Corte Madera, Calif.
- Christiana Mall in Newmark, Dela.
- The Florida Mall in Orlando, Fla.
- The Shops at Prudential Center in Boston, Mass.
- The Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem, N.H.
- Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station, N.Y.
- The Westchester in White Plains, N.Y.
- Kenwood Towne Centre in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, Canada
- The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City in Arlington, Va.
The 11 new locations will add a huge increase to Microsoft’s retail presence. Since the first opening in 2009, the software giant has opened a total of 20 stores to date.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the 20 stores have had a total of over 13 million customers pass through their doors over the last three years. (No figures are available for the number of customers who immediately turned around and walked out after realizing it was not an Apple retail location.)
Microsoft declined to share details on its retail plans going forward, but said the company is “committed to the success of our growing store network.”
Apple is in the process of expanding many of its stores across the U.S. to accommodate its larger than expected foot traffic. The average Apple store is 8,400 sq. feet, which is an increase over the original store size target of 6,000 sq. feet when the company began its retail operations 11 years ago.
The number of visitors to Apples retail locations has grown at an annual rate of 15.3 percent.
