14 DAY TRIAL // It’s no secret that Microsoft is working to expand its retail network with new stores across the United States and Canada, so new information regarding a bunch of new locations to purchase products developed by the Redmond-based company reached the web.
Neowin is reporting that the Microsoft Store Facebook page revealed a list with 11 new specialty stores that are expected to open next month and thus help the company reach a bigger number of customers across the United States.
Here are the locations of the new Microsoft specialty stores along with their opening dates:
May 3
North Point Mall, Alpharetta, GA
May 13
The Oaks, Thousand Oaks, CA Park Place, Tucson, AZ Jordan Creek Town Center, Des Moines, IA
May 15
FlatIron Crossing, Broomfield, CO North Star Mall, San Antonio, TX Westroads Mall, Omaha, NE
May 17
The Mall in Columbia, Columbia, MD The Maine Mall, S Portland, ME Mall of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA Boise Towne Square, Boise, ID
Microsoft’s specialty stores are basically the “reinvented” holiday pop-up stores that occupy just a small location in large shopping centers or various other malls across the United States. They sell basically the same products as the large stores, including Windows, Surface tablets, and smartphones running Windows Phone.
“Our Specialty Stores sell an array of Microsoft products, including Microsoft Surface Pro with Windows 8 Pro, Microsoft Surface RT, Windows Phone 8 and Xbox/Kinect. By expanding our retail footprint, we have the opportunity to bring Microsoft products and a premium retail experience to life by continuing to offer the choice, value and service our customers have come to expect from the Microsoft Store,” Microsoft says.
In case sales are going as planned, Microsoft can then upgrade these specialty stores to full-time locations that allow customers to test drive its products and benefit from a bigger wider variety of products and accessories designed to work with its own devices.
Microsoft continues the efforts to expand its stores in new locations in the United States, but the company is also believed to be working to open stores on the Old Continent, as it’s still relying on retailers exclusive to sell tablets and other devices to Europeans.
According to rumors that reached the web a long time ago, the United Kingdom could host Microsoft’s first store in Europe, while several other locations in France and Germany are also under consideration, people familiar with the matter suggested.