Microsoft Announces Foray into Retail Store Sales Ala Apple
In what I can only describe as an obvious attempt to be cool and continue their “me too” saga, Microsoft has announced plans to open a “small number” of retail stores to sell their wares, and has even hired a 27-year Wal-Mart veteran to head up the operation. David Porter, who is joining Microsoft fresh off the boat from DreamWorks Animation SKG, after leading the entertainment company’s worldwide product distribution for seven years, will commence work on February 16, 2008. Microsoft has not released any specific details about their retail strategy other than to say they hope to “create a better PC and Microsoft retail purchase experience for consumers worldwide through the development and opening of the company’s own retail stores.”
Unfortunately for Microsoft, unlike Apple, the company does not sell complete PC-hardware and software solutions with the exception of the X-BOX, which is a gaming console and decidedly not a PC. One has to ask, what on God’s green Earth does Microsoft expect to sell at these stores other than plastic and cardboard boxes with round disks inside?
