
One of these things is not like the other: Apple store, Microsoft store - apress
http://gravitationalpull.net/wp/?p=2077
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bpatrianakos
I can confirm the same kind of experience with Microsoft stores with the one
just outside Chicago. When I first saw it I wondered why they would even open
such a store when Microsoftt products don't really lend themselves to a
branded store. I speculated that they just saw how well the Apple store did
and decided to copy just like they copy a lot of things competitors do (for
better or worse, I'm not saying its bad/good, right/wrong). Then another more
plausible thought came to mind. This could be a way to get people to believe
there's no difference between Apple and Microsoft. In fact I have this
creeping feeling they actually want to confuse people into thinking its the
same store. In my case there was an Apple store on the opposite end of the
same mall. Think about it. Both stores are eerily similar on first glance.
They both have just a big logo outside with an open floor plan and a bunch of
products on tables. My own mother who loves Apple products, owns a few, but is
still not a tech savvy person asked me "Is that the new Apple store?". It
reminded me of the way Samsung designed and packaged some of their phones and
tablets in such a way that "moms who always buy the wrong thing for Christmas"
are tricked into thinking a tablet is an iPad because it looks like an iPad.
In this case it almost seems like the idea is to get people to buy a
laptop/phome/whatever from the Microsoft store because it looks like the Apple
store and therefor if it looks the same it must be the same.

But the problem with a dedicated Microsoft store is that You can buy a
Microsoft product anywhere. There's no difference in terms of products between
a Microsoft store and a Best Buy, Wal Mart, Target, any cell phome carrier's
store, and electronics shops in general. The products in a MS store is just a
subset of what you can get anywhere else. Now contrast this with the
experience of buying an Apple product. There's a consistent experience and
consistent branding across the board. There's the Apple store which is the
ultimate controlled experience and even when you buy an Apple product
elsewhere there's still consistency. For example, if you buy an Apple product
from Best Buy there's a dedicated Apple area that is specially set up and
designed like a mini Apple store even if it's a single table with an iMac and
a MacBook. The table is the same table as the one at the Apple store and so
are the tags (iPads with prices and specs) and there's even a little wall that
looks like a chunk of Apple Store.

There's always consistent branding with Apple too. Even if you buy an iMac out
the back of some guys truck! That's because all their products have a distinct
look and the little apple logo. You can't buy an HP Mac or a Lenovo MacBook
Air. If it's an Apple then it's an Apple from top to bottom and there's no
other logos or branding anywhere.

This is why a Microsoft Store not only doesn't make sense but makes it look
like an attempt to copy, confuse, mislead, or create a false equivalency
between the Microsoft and Apple brands. Now that Microsoft looks like its
going to start manufacturing it's own hardware like with the new Surface it
would make sense but until they can fill a store with Microsoft manufactured
products first and foremost with a few sections for third party accessories
then it looks more like a cheap way to ride someone else's coat tails.

~~~
aggie
I first saw a Microsoft store at the Stanford Shopping Center (Palo Alto, CA),
right next to the Apple store. At Valley Fair (Santa Clara, CA), I noticed a
Microsoft store and my friend commented how it looked like an Apple store. I
looked around and sure enough there was an Apple store 30 feet away. Microsoft
isn't trying to be subtle at all, which seems to support your theory.

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mitchty
If you've ever been to the Mall of America, its even more blatant. The
Microsoft store is directly across from the Apple store.

I was in there once when I got my 4s, and decided why not pick up Forza 4
while I was there. It was a bit surreal, the overall experience of walking in
and telling an associate: I want X was markedly different. This store unlike
the Boston store, was almost dead except for people playing xbox, and browsing
the web on the computers.

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joshuaheard
Let's summarize: Apple, a hardware manufacturer, had only Apple products in
their store. Microsoft, a software company, had hardware from many
manufacturers, which is apparently confusing to Apple customers. Oh, and
Microsoft's store was smaller.

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bpatrianakos
First off, it actually is confusing to Apple customers. It's way too easy in
our little bubble to really understand how little a normal person cares about
the things we care about. You have no idea how many people think that Googles
search bar IS the address bar. I've seen people use the search bar of their
browser and/or going to the Google homepage to search for
"www.whateverSiteTheyKnewTheAddressOf.com" even though the address bar is
literally 10 pixels from the search bar! This is the vast vast vast majority
of people who use technology.

It's easy to scoff but these are your users (unless your users are just like
you but that's rare).

I'd ask what is the advantage of having a Microsodt store? Why would it be
beneficial for Microsoft to invest money in operating a chain of stores that
serve the exact same purpose every other generic electronics store serves? To
me there's no logic there unless the purpose is to confuse people or to try to
make your brand seem like its equivalent in a "well this looks like Apple so
it must be the same" kind of way.

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corporalagumbo
Clearly Microsoft wants to develop a brand on an equal footing with Apple.
There's no other way to survive against Apple. Building Microsoft retail
stores (fronted with their rather lovely, modern logo) and staking out their
own retail domain, away from the clutter of the big boxes, is part of that
push.

The question here I think is about execution, not the utility of this
strategy. Seems like they are making some very odd mistakes - because of lack
of focus, or perhaps trouble keeping the OEMs happy?

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gokhan
_There's no other way to survive against Apple._

Android is doing pretty well without a dedicated store.

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corporalagumbo
I was referring to the need for brand power, not the store specifically.
Android has indeed developed brand power, but Microsoft's situation and needs
are different from Android and I think a store is an absolute must. Android
has successfully created a story that people like about power and choice in
your pocket, and good on Google and the OEMs for that. But Microsoft is a
much, much bigger entity than Android, and they have a proportionally grander
and more ambitious vision (or need to have such a vision or are trying to
develop such a vision) about technology, a vision they want to bring to people
through a much more complex and heavily integrated suite of technology and
services. And one of the best ways to do this is through a polished, exciting
store experience (not sure if Microsoft is quite managing that, but hopefully
the situation should improve.)

Microsoft's imperative is to distill its sprawling empire into something sleek
and powerful. Android's imperative, should it choose to accept it, is to
expand on its successful foundation intelligently without diluting or
confusing the story it tells. Totally opposite problems IMO.

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theevocater
I've personally been to a few Microsoft stores and they all have that distinct
cargo cult feel. They feel like a designer walked through an Apple Store once
and then designed the rest from memory. The biggest difference I noticed was
layout. Some things were organized by brand, some by type, and then the Xbox
stations were just sort of thrown in-between things.

In an Apple Store there is enough room between each table for 3 people to
stand comfortably: 2 to check out stuff and 1 to walk through in the middle.
The Microsoft store was much more cramped meaning you always had to be pushing
through a crowd. It certainly gave the illusion of a packed store. However,
even when an Apple Store is absolutely packed, you never find yourself pushing
through a crowd.

 _Shrug_ I don't think this is some blight on Microsoft though. It is there
first attempt at a solid retail presence. Apple stores weren't always as great
as they are now and I'm sure that Microsoft will iterate their store design to
improve it.

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pohl
"Cargo cult feel" is a pretty generous way to phrase it. The closer one looks,
the more it looks more like Jennifer Jason Leigh's character in Single White
Female. Check out how they mimic the opening ceremonies for a new store:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dStiYaxeQ4Q#t=4m51s> (Apple store)

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9Hk0ZCqRxg> (MS store)

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onehp
I would imagine the reason for the difference in purchasing would be Apple's
consistent pricing strategy. The price of an Apple product seems to be set no
matter where you get it from, whereas people will bargain hunt for a Windows
machine.

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bangbang
I enjoyed the Microsoft store, as well as the sony store in LA.

Personally, I've grown bored with the apple store and don't have a reason to
visit any longer (Same old inventory and experience for years). Now, the MS &
Sony stores had several things that I haven't seen in retail stores before (3d
binoculars, high end cameras etc..) and was very engaging. If I had a need for
what they were selling (and wasn't such a amazon fanatic), I'd have no problem
dropping in. I think this is a good trend.

The Mac fans are being a little too precious, IMHO.

~~~
Teckla
_Personally, I've grown bored with the apple store and don't have a reason to
visit any longer..._

My family owns one Mac and two PCs. When the Mac needed some minor servicing,
the value of a _local_ Apple Store became really apparent: we called, made a
same-day appointment, went in, had the Mac serviced, and left happy customers
in a very short period of time.

When a PC problem occurs, I call, wait on hold, slowly convince the technical
support person whose first language isn't English that it needs to be shipped
back for servicing, pack it up, label is properly, drive to a FedEx or UPS
shop, ... it goes on and on, and it's a real hassle. Also, very stressful: who
knows if you'll ever actually see your PC again? Even if you do, who knows
when it'll come back?

My PC is due for replacement. Now that I'm older and have a family and many
responsibilities, I'm willing to pay a premium for fast, hassle-free, local
service. I'm not yet 100% sure I'll switch to Mac, but I might... and that's
in large part because there's a few local Apple Stores near by.

~~~
bangbang
I agree. This is a great reason to by a mac. It would be nice if the
competition did this too.

I don't get why are so offended that another store is similar to one they
like. It's just an electronics retailer.

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kristianp
It's pretty obvious why no-one bought anything: The Windows 8 machines were
there to try only. Windows 8 hasn't been released yet. And the windows 7
phones are going to be obsolete in a couple of months when the win 8 phones
come out.

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zabraxias
I am with you on this one...even hardware manufacturers are promising a free
upgrade to win8 as an incentive to buy now. I imagine the same is similar for
the phones they are selling.

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ddw
Yes: Apple and Microsoft are different companies.

~~~
jlgreco
Yeah, _"one of these things is not like the other"_ really doesn't make any
sense if you think about it when there are only two "things".

Either _both_ of them are not like the other, or _both_ of them are like the
other.

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noonespecial
I went into the one in the "Mall of Florida" in Orlando about a week ago.

I went right to the phones because, quite honestly, I've never even seen a
Windows phone "in the wild". I picked up a phone and started poking.

The _very first words_ I heard were from a sales person who snuck up behind me
and are as follows: "you don't want to buy that". No "hello". No "how may I
help you" or "are you looking for something specific". Nope. "You don't want
to buy that."

Further questioning revealed that I did not, in fact, want to buy much of
anything in the store because "there's a new Windows coming out soon".

So I didn't. Buy anything. Or even hang out. It just felt creepy.

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nyar
I think they didn't buy it from the store because they went home and bought it
online at a cheaper price whereas the luxurious apple supremacists have no
problem shelling out lavish amounts of money for an apple designed usb drive.

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Metrop0218
Microsoft went into retail not to actually make more money but to increase
mindshare and build up the brand. That said though, I expect things to change
a good bit come this holiday season.

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uvTwitch
Microsoft have always been awful at marketing. The design of Microsoft stores
seems like them admitting so, and trying a "fake it 'til you don't have to"
approach.

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recoiledsnake
The Microsoft stores are going to be used to market the Surface line of
devices. Microsoft figured that the Best Buy folks were not doing a good job
and could probably steer people away from Microsoft products. So we will see
this strategy come into effect in 20 days when Windows 8 launches and the
Microsoft stores and the popup stores in the malls will be the only places
where you can buy a Surface.

