Microsoft to open 75 new retail stores in next 3 years

By Tom Warren, on 13th Jul 11 7:40 pm with 47 Comments

Microsoft Store

Microsoft revealed its plans to open 75 new Microsoft Stores in the next three years.

Microsoft’s Kevin Turner, chief operating officer, revealed the company’s plans during a keynote address to 12,000 partners at the company’s 2011 Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles. Turner showed off a map of the new stores dotted across the United States. Microsoft currently has 11 stores open in the United States. The software giant held a grand opening ceremony for its eleventh Microsoft Store recently. The store, located in the Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles, California, was opened by Turner. Microsoft presented more than $1 million in software grants to local organizations as part of the grand opening ceremony  last month.

Microsoft is now safely into the double digits for its range of stores. The company is also rumored to be launching stores in New York and Orlando later this year too. The Microsoft Stores offer all of the Microsoft products found through online retailers and inside major retail chains, including keyboards and mice, Windows 7, Xbox 360 and many more products. Apple currently has 222 stores in the United States alone, and 287 total stores worldwide, including 27 in the UK and 14 in Canada.

Future Microsoft Stores

  • http://profiles.google.com/carlosrfonseca Carlos Ribeiro da Fonseca

    Yay!
    Still only in the US (someone please tell Steve Balmer that there’s more to the world than just the US!!!) but better this than nothing.

    • Guest

      I’ll tell him if you’ll agree to spell his name right.

    • Anonymous

      It’s a US based company. I’m sure if they where based in your contry they would have opened a few there already.

    • http://profiles.google.com/carlosrfonseca Carlos Ribeiro da Fonseca

      Well, Apple gets it. And McDonald’s. And Nokia. And Zara. And FNAC.

      All of them get that their brands — not the company, who cares where the company headquarters actually are — are global. They get the “customer experience”. 

      Microsoft doesn’t yet.

      And it isn’t just the physical stores, the Windows Phone Marketplace also has dumb country limitations.

    • http://profiles.google.com/carlosrfonseca Carlos Ribeiro da Fonseca

      Well, Apple gets it. And McDonald’s. And Nokia. And Zara. And FNAC.

      All of them get that their brands — not the company, who cares where the company headquarters actually are — are global. They get the “customer experience”. 

      Microsoft doesn’t yet.

      And it isn’t just the physical stores, the Windows Phone Marketplace also has dumb country limitations.

    • Anonymous

      All those companies you mentioned started with us stores only then spread. Microsoft is doing just the same. The limited services are really due to licensing issues which limit the services from spreading to other countries.

    • http://profiles.google.com/carlosrfonseca Carlos Ribeiro da Fonseca

      >>All those companies you mentioned started with us stores only then
      spread. Microsoft is doing just the same.
      True, but, as is typically Microsoft, they’re not only late to the game, they’re moving slowly.

      >>The limited services are
      really due to licensing issues which limit the services from spreading
      to other countries.
      Strange that Apple and Google don’t have those issues… Also, the one year they had between the Windows Phone announcement and the actual release wasn’t enough to work them out?

    • Anonymous

      They don’t have those issues with services now but I’m sure they did. No company is going to spend loads of money on licensing if the marketshare isn’t there yet. Ms has to test waters before going all out building stores all over. They did so and now they are going to make more. Then I’m sure they will think of what’s outside of the us, like Europe and japan for example, then everywhere else.

    • Anonymous

      All those companies you mentioned started with us stores only then spread. Microsoft is doing just the same. The limited services are really due to licensing issues which limit the services from spreading to other countries.

  • jinge

    Same than Carlos: Only US!!!
    Always this stupid focus, at least open 1 in every main cities of European countries!
    A bit like bing/bing maps always waiting for updates that US have… :(
    In Europe they are loosing market share because of that!

    • Alombelino

      Why? the economy is about to implode world wide and MS has a hand in it.

    • http://profiles.google.com/carlosrfonseca Carlos Ribeiro da Fonseca

      Probably, but the stores aren’t just about the money, they’re mostly about the customer experience and feedback.

      Or do you have any doubts Apple wouldn’t be where it is today if they didn’t have the stores? Where would people queue all night to get the latest iDevice and provide all that free publicity?

    • Greg

      That’s a very big investment to make just for customer experience. Apple stores are extremely profitable. MS’s lose money. I don’t see that having 86 money-losing stores is going to be sustainable. Indeed, when Ballmer eventually gets bounced, which should have happened at least five years ago, is a new CEO going to keep maintaining that? No way. It’ll be among the first to go.

      They either need to figure out how to make their stores profitable BEFORE they build more. Or just keep a presence in major cities.

      MS isn’t Apple. They don’t have the same growth, the same leverage, or the same appeal and customer loyalty. It’s stupid for MS to pretend otherwise.

    • http://profiles.google.com/carlosrfonseca Carlos Ribeiro da Fonseca

      10 years ago, when Apple opened the first store, Apple didn’t have any of that either. It was actually declining and people were betting on when it would file for bankrupcy.

      Apple opened its first store when bigger chains were closing them or even going bust and everyone thought they were nuts.

      And here we are today, with people camping outside Apple stores to be the first in line to get the newest iDevice.

  • jinge

    Same than Carlos: Only US!!!
    Always this stupid focus, at least open 1 in every main cities of European countries!
    A bit like bing/bing maps always waiting for updates that US have… :(
    In Europe they are loosing market share because of that!

  • Steve

    Thats waaay to many gaps in the map. I was really hoping to get one in Louisiana but i see the nearest is in TX. Thats just retarded

    • guest

      I’m surprised to see Detroit of all places getting one. That’s hardly an exploding economy there.

      Sweet to see Chicago’s getting one, though, as that’s where I’m going to be located come three years from now.

    • Anonymous

      Chicago, or that is Oakbrook outside of Chicago has one and it’s a very nice store, actually better done than the Apple store around the corner from it.

    • http://twitter.com/wordofb B

      Detroit might not be the greatest of places, but the suburbs are truly nice.  Detroit Metro is a huge city.. the size of Boston, Manhattan and San Fran combined…  30 miles north you’d find yourself.. still in the city and in some really nice prosperous neighborhoods.  I think they wouldn’t go wrong in Rochester/Bloomfield/Troy (the 5th safest city in the US), or Macomb/Shelby or even Novi.  

    • guest

      I’m surprised to see Detroit of all places getting one. That’s hardly an exploding economy there.

      Sweet to see Chicago’s getting one, though, as that’s where I’m going to be located come three years from now.

    • YankeeGirl

      I did not know people in Louisiana even knew PC existed, I kid I kid.

    • Guest

      And then you wonder why southerners hate yankees still.

    • Anonymous

      Hey, us floridians and californians don’t…

  • http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98

    I hope one comes to the UK. :-)

    • alexh2o

      Wonder if they will open a crazy mega store on Oxford Street just like Apple..?

  • http://profiles.google.com/blueandwhite89 Daniel Purdham

    Great so see so many stores opening in the US. 

    We need some MS love in Canada though!

    • Anonymous

      Agreed, but let’s start with the Zune Pass first.

  • Guest

    Hope one comes to Glasgow we have an apple store here

  • Guest

    Hope one comes to Glasgow we have an apple store here

  • Vinnie

    Orlando? Awesome.

  • Anonymous

    Sacramento? Hello?

    • Anonymous

      I think the map does show one in sac town, doesn’t it??

  • Anonymous

    What gives MS? No Fresno, Ca store? Fresno is the fifth largest city in Cali with over just under one million people in Fresno county. We already got an Apple store that is packed non-stop with customers.Take one dot away from the hippies on the coast and give one to the inland hippies!

  • Anonymous

    You will see me working in one of them.

  • bsbokc

    I can’t believe we are getting on in Oklahoma City can bet it will be the last of the 75 on that map.

    • http://www.timsmithmma.com Tim Smith

      Hopefully we get it sooner rather than later.

    • dnut

      I work for the one in Houston and am so happy Okc is getting one!  That’s where I am originally from……

  • Anonymous

    Yayyyyy!

  • Anonymous

    Yay

  • Anonymous

    I’d love to work at one with a  future move to management being part of the plan, haven’t had luck getting a call for an interview though.

  • http://www.appatic.com Avatar X

    Look at that. Official validation for yet anothe rone of my rumor scoops. in this case the one for around a month ago:

    http://www.winrumors.com/new-microsoft-store-opening-in-houston-on-june-23/#comment-210117125

    Meaning that given what TTurner just admited, it was pretty much spot on. If i remember right the rumor was for a classic 5 years Microsoft road map. So 100 stores in that time do sound about correct based on what the rumor said and what turner is now officially saying.

  • http://twitter.com/kimsk kimsk

    Coming to Nashville soon? Sweet!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rickard-Godzkilla/510395754 Rickard Godzkilla

    SWEET! Looks like Buffalo NY is getting one!  Where do I apply?

  • Anonymous

    Where’s Canada.

    • Guest

      North.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jayswanson42 Jay Swanson

    So LA and New York look like they’re gonna have multiple stores but we’ll still only have one here in Chicago? Lame.
    They need to open one downtown as a “flagship” of sorts and one in Orland….so I can apply for a job there ;)

  • Merlotallred

    Did this map come from Microsoft?  If so, why did they place their Lone Tree Colorado store in Wyoming?  According to Yelp, the Lone Tree store was the 3rd Microsoft store to open, so you’d think that a company as big as Microsoft would know where it was.  (Especially since it’s one of the richest suburbs of Denver — not exactly a tiny town.)  Right now, their map shows that particular store is located in a national forest with the closest nearby town the size of 127. I know that tracking the 11 currently open stores in the country may be a lot for such an important corporation such as Microsoft.  After all, they’ve got a lot of serious problems to fix such as a failed lineup of Zunes and a mobile platform that is virtually non-existent when compared to Android and iOS, not to mention WebOS (gasp!).  My only concern is when they multiply their store numbers by nearly 8 and have 86 stores, that we’ll be seeing their PR folks releasing maps like this showing store locations near dense population centers in Siberia or Madagascar.  

    Come on PR folks in Redmond.  Are you that dense?   Show some professionalism.  You are staging a controlled event.  Things should be buttoned-down.  Very disappointing.  This is one more reason for me to switch to Apple.