Microsoft has surprised technology industry rivals and high street retailers by announcing plans to open its own line of branded shops.
The decision to launch a "small number" of Microsoft stores comes during the worst recession for decades, and just weeks after the company and made its first ever mass redundancies.
The company, which is based in Redmond, Washington, said that it was hiring David Porter, an executive from the movie studio DreamWorks, to oversee a network of shops that wil sell Windows PCs, mobile phones and other devices.
"This is an exciting time with our strong line-up of product releases, including Windows 7 and new releases of Windows Live and Windows Mobile," said Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer.
"We're also working hard to transform the PC and Microsoft buying experience at retail … so that it's clear, simple and straightforward for consumers everywhere."
Although it made its fortune providing software and operating systems for computers, in recent years Microsoft has moved further into making hardware and devices.
The company's Xbox 360 videogame console has helped knock Japanese electronics giant Sony off its perch, while it also produces a popular range of keyboards, mice, webcams and other computer peripherals.
Not every venture into hardware has proved successful, however: the company's Zune music player – which made a solid but unremarkable start on its release in 2006 – saw sales drop sharply last year. Recent financial figures suggested that revenues from the device had dropped by nearly $100m on the previous year.
Despite the range of hardware now being made by Microsoft, Porter implied that his primary focus will be selling PCs, which could be an important way for the company to stimulate sales of the upcoming Windows 7 operating system.
"I'm excited about helping consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases," said Porter in a statement.
Microsoft's long-standing rivalry with Apple led to immediate comparisons with the iPod makers own hugely successful string of shops.
Overseen by vice president Ron Johnson, who joined the company from America's fifth-biggest retailer Target, Apple's chain of stores broke records by achieving more than a billion dollars in sales within two years. There are now more than 200 Apple stores worldwide.
However, several large electronics chains have closed outlets or collapsed entirely in recent months, perhaps prompting the audacious plan.
"It'll be great to have a store to demo Microsoft tech and Windows laptops side by side, since so many chains are dropping away," wrote Brian Lam, the editor of gadget blog Gizmodo.
Regardless, the decision to launch into such an expensive undertaking while the economy is in dire straits baffled some analysts, while others suggested that remaining electronics retailers are likely to be angered by the move.
But the company will be hoping that Porter, who was previously an executive at retail giant Wal-Mart, can bring some of his experience to help the company's marketing push.
"Retail will help Microsoft in telling a broader story it wants to get across about products from Windows Live to Windows Mobile," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with the independent research company Directions on Microsoft.
The decision to launch a "small number" of Microsoft stores comes during the worst recession for decades, and just weeks after the company and made its first ever mass redundancies.
The company, which is based in Redmond, Washington, said that it was hiring David Porter, an executive from the movie studio DreamWorks, to oversee a network of shops that wil sell Windows PCs, mobile phones and other devices.
"This is an exciting time with our strong line-up of product releases, including Windows 7 and new releases of Windows Live and Windows Mobile," said Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer.
"We're also working hard to transform the PC and Microsoft buying experience at retail … so that it's clear, simple and straightforward for consumers everywhere."
Although it made its fortune providing software and operating systems for computers, in recent years Microsoft has moved further into making hardware and devices.
The company's Xbox 360 videogame console has helped knock Japanese electronics giant Sony off its perch, while it also produces a popular range of keyboards, mice, webcams and other computer peripherals.
Not every venture into hardware has proved successful, however: the company's Zune music player – which made a solid but unremarkable start on its release in 2006 – saw sales drop sharply last year. Recent financial figures suggested that revenues from the device had dropped by nearly $100m on the previous year.
Despite the range of hardware now being made by Microsoft, Porter implied that his primary focus will be selling PCs, which could be an important way for the company to stimulate sales of the upcoming Windows 7 operating system.
"I'm excited about helping consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases," said Porter in a statement.
Microsoft's long-standing rivalry with Apple led to immediate comparisons with the iPod makers own hugely successful string of shops.
Overseen by vice president Ron Johnson, who joined the company from America's fifth-biggest retailer Target, Apple's chain of stores broke records by achieving more than a billion dollars in sales within two years. There are now more than 200 Apple stores worldwide.
However, several large electronics chains have closed outlets or collapsed entirely in recent months, perhaps prompting the audacious plan.
"It'll be great to have a store to demo Microsoft tech and Windows laptops side by side, since so many chains are dropping away," wrote Brian Lam, the editor of gadget blog Gizmodo.
Regardless, the decision to launch into such an expensive undertaking while the economy is in dire straits baffled some analysts, while others suggested that remaining electronics retailers are likely to be angered by the move.
But the company will be hoping that Porter, who was previously an executive at retail giant Wal-Mart, can bring some of his experience to help the company's marketing push.
"Retail will help Microsoft in telling a broader story it wants to get across about products from Windows Live to Windows Mobile," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with the independent research company Directions on Microsoft.
No comments:
Post a Comment