14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based software giant Microsoft is getting ready to open a series of brick-and-mortar stores around the United States and internationally, in an attempt to better compete with archrival Apple.
Yesterday, the company officially confirmed a list of 32 holiday pop-up brick-and-mortar stores for the US and Canada, but it did not deliver specific info for when these stores would be open to the public.
One thing that we know on this at the moment is that they will be opened this fall, which suggests that some might be already operational when Windows 8 becomes generally available on October 26. However, Microsoft promises more info on the matter in the coming weeks.
For those out of the loop, we should note that users will be able to purchase a wide range of Microsoft products via the company’s stores, as well as devices that run under Microsoft software.
In addition to Windows laptops and desktops, Windows Phones, and peripherals, these stores will also sell the Windows platform, along with other software, including third-party apps and games. The Surface tablets will be sold at these locations as well.
Before the end of the fiscal year 2013 (at the end of June 2013), Microsoft should have in place 44 permanent Stores around the world.
In the coming years, the Redmond-based software giant is expected to open even more stores in the US and internationally. In the end, the company should have no less than 75 retail locations operational in the next two years or so.
Unfortunately, the software maker did not provide new details on its plans for opening new Microsoft Stores.
According to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, the list of holiday pop-up stores that Microsoft will open in the US and Canada this fall includes:
Aventura Mall (Aventura, FL) Beachwood Place (Beachwood, OH) Cherry Creek Shopping Center (Denver, CO) Dadeland Mall (Miami, FL) Eaton Centre (Toronto, Ontario) Fashion Mall at Keystone (Indianapolis, IN) Fashion Show Mall (Las Vegas, NV) Glendale Galleria (Glendale, CA) Mall at Green Hills (Nashville, TN) Mall in Columbia (Columbia, MD) Metropolis at Metrotown (Burnaby, BC) Montgomery Mall (Bethesda, MD) Natick Collection (Natick, MA) North Star Mall (San Antonio, TX) Oakridge Centre (Vancouver, BC) Penn Square Mall (Oklahoma City, OK) Perimeter Mall (Atlanta, GA) Roosevelt Field Mall (Garden, City, NY) Ross Park Mall (Pittsburgh, PA) Saint Louis Galleria (St. Louis, MO) San Francisco Centre (San Francisco, CA) South Shore Plaza (Braintree, MA) Southpark Mall (Charlotte, NC) Stonebriar Centre Mall (Frisco, TX) Streets at Southpoint (Durham, NC Time Warner Center: The Shops at Columbus Circle (New York, NY) Washington Square (Portland, OR) West Edmonton Mall (Edmonton, Alberta)