14 DAY TRIAL // A Microsoft executive has confirmed that the Windows maker is gearing up for a retail store campaign targeting Apple's own retail chain. The company plans on opening retail stores in the vicinity of Apple's brick and mortar establishments, some of which will be situated wall-to-wall with the Mac maker's.
The news shouldn't come as a shock to Apple fans, with Microsoft targeting Apple's TV ads and retail stores since kicking off its own “Windows, Not Walls” ad campaign. During a sales-focused keynote presentation at the Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans, Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner cited a huge success with the company’s series of “Apple Tax” TV commercials, mentioning Apple's seemingly exaggerated price for a MacBook Pro. “Stay tuned, ’cause we’re going to have some retail stores opened up right next door to Apple stores this fall,” he said. “Stay tuned! Just stay tuned!”
An ifoAppleStore piece also reveals that Microsoft's COO promised the partner audience that, “Every single thing we learn in those Microsoft stores we put on the street, we [are] going to share that openly and transparently with all of our retail partners, so they can do the exact same thing [...] We're going to have some retail stores opened up right next door to Apple stores this fall.”
Knowing how Apple uses intelligence to make users want Apples, rather than forcing its way to customers' hearts, we can expect the Mac maker to answer back in a diplomatic, yet sarcastic and ironical manner, as it has done over the past years with its “Get a Mac” ad campaign.
Readers can listen to the portion of Turner's speech where he mentions Apple and the initiative targeting the Mac maker's stores, by downloading this MP3 file. Comments are highly encouraged on this topic.