A gauntlet of wildly cheering sales people dressed in brightly colored T-shirts, a sleek, white store, a simple but elegant design.
You will be excused for thinking the video below is from an Apple store, but it is actually from the opening of a Microsoft Store in Scottsdale, Ariz., today.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
Displaying BoomTown’s advanced age and elephantine cache of meaningless tech memories, after news yesterday that the software giant was plunging into the retail market, I was surprised to find little mention that Microsoft’s last store effort had ended in failure in 2001.
That’s not to say it’s a particularly good or bad idea to hire a former Dreamworks and Wal-Mart exec named David Porter as vice president of retail stores to create Microsoft-branded stores–or as the company announced yesterday, “to create a better PC and Microsoft retail purchase experience.”
Just as long as the Zunes go on the back shelf!
Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau in 1997 and also wrote the BoomTown column about the sector. With Walt Mossberg, she co-produces and co-hosts D: All Things Digital, a major high-tech and media conference. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
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