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?
Today, Microsoft tweeted a photo of the wall in front of one of its upcoming retail stores, either in Scottsdale, Ariz., or Mission Viejo, Calif.
Although it is not clear which location it is–frankly, those mall potted plants could be just about anywhere–I am guessing some Foot Locker is right around the corner and an Outback Steakhouse is not far either.
This does not bode well, especially if Microsoft is hoping to one-up the sleek and hip Apple store vibe.
In fact, that’s where BoomTown is off to now, to get an early place in line for an iTablet.
It looks like two years of relentless controversy and company upheaval have sent Yahoo’s former PR person back into the arms of a retail outfit.
Jill Nash, who said she was leaving Yahoo in early February, will be taking the top PR job at San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co., where the former Gap exec will get the title of chief communications officer and VP of corporate affairs.
Of course, given the tough retail market these days, life at the jeans manufacturer isn’t going to be all worn-in comfort either.
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!
With all this humbugging about holiday retail online–down? up? sideways?–it would do a person well to think more Tiny Tim than Scrooge these days.
And here are some very clever advertising videos from the fine folks at ChangingThePresent.org, created for the charity nonprofit by StrawberryFrog to help you get there.
They should make you think twice, when you see those dumb buy-more-and-more-and-even-more ads out there.
We’re posting all the interviews from the sixth D: All Things Digital conference that took place in late May.
Here’s an interview that Walt Mossberg did with Michael Dell, the founder of the once-high-flying computer company who has returned as its CEO. Dell was forced to resume the role in 2007, after changing market conditions caused the company to falter and competition from Apple, Hewlett-Packard and Sony increased.
This is part two of three parts.
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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