Microsoft builds pretend retail store, wants to play house later
By Paul Miller 
posted Jan 13th 2009 12:19PM
posted Jan 13th 2009 12:19PM
[Via istartedsomething]
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Fifth picture. Guy's thoughts are on the wall.
Awesome!
Priceless!
Note to Microsoft. If you want Apple users to stop being smug and self satisfied with themselves, stop copying Apple. I mean, Jesus Christ, even the "I'm a PC" moniker was stolen from an Apple commercial. Makes me ashamed to be a PC user.
He's like a fatter and hornier version of Christian Bale, just look at his face.
He's a PC and she's a MAC running boot camp with a pirated copy of XP.
@Paul Chapel
I know you want your voice heard, but that doesn't give you the right to cut into other people's conversation with a far off topic.
You want to whining & bitching about MS finally want to do it right, then go ahead, start your own comment.
And by the way, copying is a way of learning, that's how you have learned to spell all these words in your comment.
Note to Paul Chapel. Quit your bitchin.
@ Chad
I think you just wrote yourself a romantic comedy staring Dane Cook & Megan Fox!
Paul, you obviously didn't read the post. your irrelevant comment has some validity, but your kneejerk fanboyism is just gonna cloud your point and get you voted down.
Paul Chapel: "Makes me ashamed to be a PC user."
Bull F*%#!^$ S@!(. You are not a PC user. Just another lie in the growing list of lies.
There once was a guy who's All Apple
Liked to go on to engadget to battle
Said "I'm a windows user"
But we saw through the loser
Don't try that bullshit Paul Chappel.
up here in redmond, we call that the official microsoft store. i guess this will be the same, except without the crazy discounts they give employees. (vista ultimate is only $45 for employees!)
Paul,
You ignorant and impetuous jackass you.
Let me just copy / paste GeekPI (I assume you are familiar with copy/paste technology, yes?)
"Wow, it's amazing how this goes over the commentators' heads. This is *not* designed to be a Microsoft Store for consumers. This is designed to demonstrate Microsoft's point of sale machines (aka cash registers), retail sales technologies (like surface for commercial sales kiosks, touch screens to demo products), retail advertising tech, etc. That's why it looks just like a Best Buy, because that's who they're selling these items to, *not end-users.* They're use their own products so they don't have to deal with licensing/favoritism with 3rd party brands.
This isn't an attempt at competing against Apple, it's an attempt at showing every retailer why they should use Microsoft's technologies to better streamline their retail stores, inventories, and sales floors."
Nice one! Although I really like the picture of the outdoor world in picture 3.
Does it come with the smokin' hottie in the blue shirt? I could "play house" with her all day long.
Good. While you're doing laundry and mowing the lawn, mind if I bang your pretend wife?
That's some curvy goodness there.
I need a bangmaid.
What a pathetic endeavor. They cannot even copy the Apple store properly. A cheesy plastic shopping cart to wheel around like Walmart? This only re-affirms that MS is the biggest "me too" company in the entire universe.
This is stupid. Microsoft already has a store. It's called Best Buy.
Wow, it's amazing how this goes over the commentators' heads. This is *not* designed to be a Microsoft Store for consumers. This is designed to demonstrate Microsoft's point of sale machines (aka cash registers), retail sales technologies (like surface for commercial sales kiosks, touch screens to demo products), retail advertising tech, etc. That's why it looks just like a Best Buy, because that's who they're selling these items to, *not end-users.* They're use their own products so they don't have to deal with licensing/favoritism with 3rd party brands.
This isn't an attempt at competing against Apple, it's an attempt at showing every retailer why they should use Microsoft's technologies to better streamline their retail stores, inventories, and sales floors.
shopping cart is for the shit load of stuff that Microsoft makes unlike apple which is always coming out w/ another ipod or iphone etc..
Well said GeekPI
People like Paul Chapel and others should feel ashamed for their impetuous remarks as they continue to post their inane, idiotic, salivating at the mouth for Apple fanboy drivel.
I guess it also has a changing room. She has three different shirts on. Favorite it "geek girl"
Seriously though.. ever been to a Sony store, gateway store, etc? Not a great thing.
Yeah....and why the grocery cart??
@ nate
For real right, it made me laugh.
looks like best buy.
Soooo, its a retail store for retail stores? innnteresting
No, it's not a retail store for retail stores. It's a demonstration of some available retail technologies.
Excuse me miss, could you tell me which aisle has the SPOT watches?
Maybe I'm the only one, but a retail store might not be a bad idea for Microsoft. Some of their best products are hardware like their mice and keyboards. They could cherry pick which computers to carry. And the Xbox section could be great.
I was kinda thinking the same thing, myself.
Actually, Microsoft *did* have a retail store back in 1999. Surprisingly, it was at the Sony Metreon in San Francisco. They closed shop in 2001, the same year that Apple opened it's first store in Virginia.
and microsoft has retial stores in india. not that i live in india, but i went there to visit family and at the mall (yes they have malls) i saw a store DEDICATED to just xbox 360. like the store name was xbox 360, it was completely green and what not. and it was official microsoft, and then there were some stores that were like everything xbox. this might be because of the lower number of other retaliers selling xbox 360s there, but i dont think that's the case.
Microsoft buyout of Circuit City, anyone...?
Baby got back.
indeed.
I think it's more like "Baby got rack".
I agree with Gallery. She needs more junk in the trunk.
I'm not picky, I'd still put my junk in that trunk.
Microsoft needs to stop tying to Apple, Google, and others and focus on their core business of building software and come up with their own ideas. Microsoft's product history is basically copy what the market leader in a segment is doing, and try to dominate it. Sometimes it has worked for them, sometimes not.
The Apple store works for Apple because Apple makes the hardware and the software. How will the Microsoft store differ all that much from the Dell store or for that matter the computer section of Best Buy?
tying to *copy*
I'd like to see the "Genius Bar" at such a store.
Its been successful so far... why stop?
It's not always successful.
It worked well through the 90s but hasn't been completely successful recently
The primary reason is that when MS did this in the past, their products were arguably better than the competition. Word and Excel were arguably better products in Windows, even though the character version of those products were superior. NT 3.51, and 4.0 was a lot easier to set up and maintain than Netware 3.12, and Netware 4 was a POS. It's questionable whether or not OS/2 was a better OS than Windows 95, but at the time Win 95 was pretty cool.
Lately, however, they have't been as successful with this strategy. The Zune is fine, but has not come close to dislodging the iPod after 3 years. the XBOX 360 is a great, but aging platform, and has not been financially successful (yet) and it seems apparent that MS has no replacement in the works. Regardless, MS's overall gaming business has not come close to beating Sony on a world wide basis.
Anyway, the Microsoft store simply seems like the computer section at Best Buy minus the Apple section, and the gaming section minus the Play Station and the Wii, and probably a few HD tvs with Media center. The Apple store sells a lot of things you can only get there, or on-line. When you can already get everything the Microsoft store will sell at Best Buy and other places, what is the business model that will make it successful in terms of retail? I don't think that Microsoft really understands what makes the Apple store successful.
Windows succeeded because most businesses had already standardized on DOS, so when Windows came out they just converted to it. So Microsoft was able to push adoption because they already had a built in monopoly, like Apple with the iPod. Apple is going to push the iPhone and succeed because people already have large quantities of music on iTunes. iTunes succeeded because it gave people something beyond subscription, which was the only thing being offered at the time (back in 2001).
It was very hard for Microsoft to break into the DAP market once people had made their choice of iTunes as a place to get music.
So, in other words, the "Me Too" thing only works for Microsoft when they already have a market that they already control. For instance, it would be easier for them to create a cloud service for Office, that is, a cloud service that businesses actually use (sorry Google Docs), then to compete with Google's search monopoly or Apple's music download/player monopoly.
I actually think this would be a great idea if Microsoft could pull it off.
The problem with Best Buy and other big box electronics stores is that they don't care about Windows. The average salesman doesn't know (or need to know) about all of the bells and whistles of Microsoft products in order to sell hardware. People come in wanting to buy laptops or desktops, and they're guided mostly on hardware features and whether or not they like the physical model.
If Microsoft could provide staff that are highly trained on MS products and could actually show people what Vista and other products are capable of, I think it could help change perspectives on MS.
@Sisyphus
I think your suggestion is kind of stupid. Why would Microsoft need to sell people on the benefits on their operating system? It's on most computers whether you like it or not. The only way I could see your suggestion being relevant is if Microsoft needed salespeople to upsell their Ultimatte versions of Vista. The myriad versions of Windows are confusing, and assuming Microsoft continues the trend with Windows 7, it would be nice if someone was actually knowledgeable about features in all versions.
@Paul. I don't think that is strictly correct. Microsoft had no real network server entries when they introduced Windows NT. They beat Novell, because while Novell was arguably a better network OS, more scalable and robust, for smaller networks NT 3.51 was just fine, it worked just like Windows and was pretty easy to install and configure for the average person (relatively speaking), unlike Netware, and unfortunately the UNIX market was so fragmented that they couldn't get their shit together to fight Microsoft. I kept selling UNIX System V for as long as I could get customers to buy it because it was (and remains) far more stable and scalable than Windows servers. Eventually, however, customers started demanding Windows NT, and companies stopped supporting UNIX, and, well, here we are. The Linux movement is still too fragmented to offer any significant entries into the business server market. Sure, there are a number of companies using it, but still, probably over 90% have a windows 2000/2003 server infrastructure, and probably aren't going to move off of it anytime soon.
"The Apple store works for Apple because Apple makes the hardware and the software."
One thing is for sure, the internet has produced a plethora of self-taught experts convinced of their own empirical brilliance. Please don't rely on Google search results to promulgate your opinion.
I work (yes, RIGHT NOW) for a motherboard manufacturer who produces boards for Gigabyte. And no, I WON'T mention their name. But I will say this, we were just contracted to build boards for the 17-inch MacBook Pro. Apple DOES NOT make the hardware.
And about making the software....that's debatable. One might ask, who "makes" FreeBSD?
That is a stupid, semantic argument, and you know perfectly well that the point is. Strictly speaking, almost no major manufacture makes 100% of their own stuff.
@egawrangler
I don't think anyone implies that Apple makes their own hardware, but they do design it. It's like an architect who draws blueprints. The architects never actually goes out to build a house, someone else does the hard grunt work. Now of course, they don't design certain components like processors and hard drives, because those components have already been standardized in the market, but when it comes to the enclosure, and mother board, all that stuff gets designed by Apple's engineers.
@ Paul Chapel
"Why would Microsoft need to sell people on the benefits on their operating system? It's on most computers whether you like it or not."
Sure, this marketing trick has worked in the past, but Microsoft is not guaranteed the same level of market share or consumer loyalty in the future just because all the computers at Best Buy are running some version of Windows (hint: they don't. Best Buy sells Apple products now).
Consumers DO have alternatives, and will probably have more as the years roll by and new technologies emerge. Microsoft doesn't just want to sell copies of Windows -- they want to incorporate a whole ecosystem of products into the consumer's life (xbox, zune, Windows Mobile, media extenders, etcetera). Increasingly, these sorts of devices and platforms will be integrated with personal computers.
Considering how much bad PR and consumer trust Vista has garnered, Microsoft *might* benefit from having direct ways to communicate with and educate customers. If the "Mojave" experiment actually produced the results the commercials claim, I think that shows a tangible benefit to Microsoft.
Clearly, its not just about the point-of-sale. If you hear that Vista is the most god-awful operating system ever made from a trustworthy friend (who may have heard it down the line from other people), you might consider buying Apple, or holding off on buying a Vista PC.
@ Myself:
I also realize from the comments that the article deals with retail equipment, etc. etc.
That doesn't impact my belief in the value of MS having trained experts demo their consumer products in a retail space (even if they just have a booth or section at Best Buy).
This would be interesting if they design this so interested parties who'd like to franchise Msoft. Sign me up if any of them actually opens in the future.
I want the windows logo stool that she's sitting on though...
I want to BE the windows logo stool that she's sitting on
finally a real woman. not one of those prepubescent lil boys engadget always showcases.
So is the "I'm a PC" mimbo her boyfriend or is he an employee?
Either way, he seems bored with his Microsoft Store experience, according to picture 2.
"Microsoft's new Retail Experience Center is a new showcase of Microsoft's products and solutions for retailers -- including back-end stuff and point of sale."
Can someone explain to me where the connection is made to an Apple store? This is a B2B store, Apple is B2C. Leave it to Engadget though to again "construe" anything and everything with Apple. No where does it make reference to Apple or even hint at it. Amazing.
I thought this was going to be a connection between "back-end stuff" and the lovely backside of the "model" or "actor" or whatever she is in these shots. Very disappointing...
Because by definition B2B PRECLUDES a storefront with shopping carts. The whole point of B2B is that it bypasses retail.
Also, does that chick in the pictures look like she's shopping for datacenter solutions? So like it or not, they're trying to get in on some of that momentum that Apple's enjoying.
Problem is, they are full of fail.
Why not make it swanky, with zune music-swapping stations, lounges, an X-Box center as was mentioned earlier, more surface and what about that "wall computer"?
Microsoft has lots of potential for B2C items that would do well in a MS Store. They could have Windows 7 beta demo stations, sneak peeks, etc. Another thing they're failing at with this is the "pretend" aspect of it. Just build a friggin pilot store. This whole "Hey guys, what if we did this??" mentality is just stupid.
"Can someone explain to me where the connection is made to an Apple store? This is a B2B store, Apple is B2C." This isn't a store at all. It's a mock store to show what a Microsoft Store (or a store-within-a-store) would look like, down to specific placements of products on shelves, branding, lighting, etc. Were they to find a partner that would be willing to pursue this, this is exactly what their version of an Apple Store would be.
(Apple did the same thing, setting up a mock store, before they opened their first Apple Store. I think they still do the same whenever they do a major renovation to the basic design, like when they went from the primarily white-and-wood-grain stores with the Theater to the aluminum look with no theater.)
Read -> Comprehend -> Post
Don't forget that middle step, or the first one, for that matter. Microsoft is not making a retail outlet, their "Retail Experience Center is a new showcase of Microsoft's products and solutions for retailers", meaning this is a showcase for retail chains to observe new Microsoft Point of Sale products and in store display/advertisement/assistant technology in use. That's the reason it looks so much like a regular retail outlet, or a terrible copy of the Apple store as the less literate are want to describe it; they are selling products to the RETAILERS for augmenting retail stores that are already in place.
Reading some of the comments here is like walking out of a Starbucks and seeing another Starbucks directly across from it. WTF, it's enough to give a sane person an aneurysm.
If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college.
"This is a B2B store"
So where's the "Ballmer Bar"? You know, a dingy little cube where sales flacks can browbeat OEM customers into signing long-term licensing contracts.
Do any other former Bestbuy employees think that this video reminds them of the ones they used to show you during the all store meetings? I forget what they were called, YellowTag or something like that. The style/editing of this vid reaked of those things to me.
I think most of you seem to be missing the point.
This is not MS trying to build mimic the Apple or Sony stores, this is a place for them to sell their retail based products and concepts. Did you guys even pay attention to the video???
Video?? Ah, I see ... Silverlight. Nope don't have that one. You see, even if you have proved that the store concept is not an example of Microsoft "Me Too", then at least the Silverlight requirement reminds us all of the "Me Too" anyway...
"this is a place for them to sell their retail based products and concepts" Which already happens at numerous retail chains every day, perhaps minus the concepts, which don't generate revenue. Retail is about revenue per square foot.
I fail to see the value add here.
The only thing I see happening here is Joe Consumer buying something from the MS store that they were going to buy from Best Buy.
Thank you. Forget the video, how about the 1st sentence in the summary: "Microsoft's new Retail Experience Center is a new showcase of Microsoft's products and solutions for retailers -- including back-end stuff and point of sale." Face it, 99% of you saw boobies in the picture and never got any further.
@CraigJ - you really are not understanding. "Retail based products and concepts" aren't meant for the guy at Best Buy - THEY ARE MEANT FOR BEST BUY! You think Joe Consumer is in the market for Point of Purchase displays, Shopping Carts with screens, P.O.S. Systems, etc? This is a showcase for their products that target retailers - not retail.
CraigJ;
Way to miss the point, again!
"Which already happens at numerous retail chains every day, perhaps minus the concepts, which don't generate revenue. Retail is about revenue per square foot."
They're selling back office software, POS, and other things I labeled concepts (because I doubt the cart is productized, it looks more conceptual). You might disagree that their retail based products and ideas are any good or not, but that is irrelevant to my post.
"I fail to see the value add here."
That's fine, see previous reply.
"The only thing I see happening here is Joe Consumer buying something from the MS store that they were going to buy from Best Buy."
This is a sample store using their retail related products meant to "sell" their retail based products and showcase their ideas. It has little to nothing to do with selling anything to "Joe Consumer". If you fail to see that from their presentation, they you really need to work on techniques to concentrate better and basic comprehension of basic concepts.
One more time, my point is that this doesn't show an effort from Microsoft to come out with "Microsoft Stores", thinking that just misses the whole point of the presentation there.
"this is a place for them to sell their retail based products and concepts"
LOL -- sell those concepts -- I heard the entire Dynamics group along with the horse they rode in on, was up for sale!
The next big thing in internet advertisement will be advertising favicons. The Favicons Homepage is going to be the first page in the internet cloud to sell a million dollar from favicons advertisement.
GTFO.
Theres a video?!?!
You need to download Silverlight to see it, unfortunately.
not a real Microsoft store.. no fat guys with beards and ponytails looking for Zune accessories
Screw playing house, I want to play doctor.
Nice rack... oh, I forgot, I'm supposed to comment on the store.
Isn't this store already out there? It's called Best Buy, Wal-Mart, or Target.
Seems legit to me - This "Microsoft Store" has 2 customers and 1 employee... Apple stores typically are mobbed frequently with 50-175 people and 15-30 employees to handle it all (See Google Images).
To be honest - It looks like Microsoft is trying to compete with Best Buy... Is that a Microsoft Surge protector I see? And honestly - Who poses like these people do?! ... Apple sells their computers, their software, and compatible stuff... What's it going to be like with Microsoft? A Toshiba, Sony, Dell, etc. brawl in the store for who will host their software?
That's the difference between Mac style and MicroStyle.
they sell hardware too you know....
the 50-175 people you mentioned are all waiting at the Genius Bar to be told they have to "buy a new one".
You stupid troll didn't even bother reading the Engadget article. The store is not opened yet. That's why there are only actors over there.
And for your note - Microsoft produces hardware like mice, keyboards... and XBox. But if it was just a software, the store would be appropriate too.
"You stupid troll didn't even bother reading the Engadget article. The store is not opened yet. That's why there are only actors over there."
What's the point? These idiot Apple trolls, when they are in their arrogant douchbag mode, cant be bothered to READ. They gotta get their daily iShill merit badge.
Microsoft Experience store's new slogan:
"The only Apple you'll see in here is Apple Bottom jeans, boots with the fur..."
I hope the self service cash registers will run Microsoft Bob.
They won't be able to sell a thing.
Wonder what their Genius bar equivalent will be. Probably something generic like "PC Helpers".
well, if you don't have to make an 'appointment' with the 'geniuses' then MS is already one step ahead. That appointment requirement is Apple arrogance at its finest.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
The chick is hot!!!
say what what you want about Microsoft, they have a pretty decent marketing department, and they know that a nice rack and a hot ass will sell more stuff than a red headed geek in glasses will...
Hell, I'd probably buy Vista Ultimate for my Pentium III box if she sold it to me.
Ah yes, but will they still sell Windows XP?
Jesus people, why can't any of you think for yourselves?
Read the press release!!
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/rec/default.mspx
to quote Paul,
"but it could also be construed as a look at what a Microsoft take on an "Apple Store-style" experience might be"
The whole idea about a Microsoft branded store is just hypothetical fanstasy by engadget blog writer. Those are HIS words, not MS. Read the press release!!
And yes, branded stores are garbage anyway. Prices at the Sony store are inflated... employees at the Apple stores are morons. So who cares? The only reason I walk into an Apple store is to pull up Techno Viking on Apple TV and walk away. The only people you ever see in those stores (at least around here) are tourists.
Maybe where you live, but the store in Phoenix has pretty much the highest sales per square foot of any store in the mall, except maybe Borders.
"could also be construed as"
These are the most important words of the article.
Paul Millers writing in this article could also be CONSTRUED as lame flamebaiting and poor blogging and another example of how Engadget writers have to heavily distort information to make fun of Microsoft.
Microsoft are demonstrating some retail technology by using their own products. Paul Miller is construing it as a failed, embarrassing attempt to compete with Apple stores.
Lord knows I'd need a *shopping cart* for all the Microsoft purchases I'd want to buy.
Is it wrong to say that all I REALLY want is one of those COOL bar stools??? I WANT 2!!! :)
Cant wait to see this come to life, if anything, something to do on a saturday, go play some new games!! :)