What will be the fate of Microsoft’s new brick & mortar strategy? Changing market trends show brick and mortar sales are down. Internet sales, on the other hand, are rising up and up. So why would a software giant want to set up retail shops? Digital distribution is growing, broadband and DSL are widely available, and several huge computer retail outlets recently went bankrupt. Honestly, to me, it makes absolutely no sense, but we don’t want Dr. Evil to push the fiery trap door button eh? Anyhow, I’m guessing these are going to be some cool looking shops, and I look forward to seeing one. Here’s the new Microsoft VP of Retail Stores, David Porter’s take on things. “There are tremendous opportunities ahead for Microsoft to create a world-class shopping experience for our customers.” “I am excited about helping consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases, and we’ll share learnings from our stores with our existing retail and OEM partners that are critical to our success.” We’ll see how things will look turn out, but I have quite a bit of skepticism about the success of this endeavor. Stores’ scheduled openings by Fall 2009, followed by a much larger number opening in 2010. Comment
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