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Microsoft has setup 100 Apple Store clones but all are empty

Apple is known and often praised for its manufacturing-to-retail setup which has served it pretty well. Taking some notes from Apple’s handbook, Microsoft started setting up their own stores in 2009 and now they have 100 stores around US. However, Microsoft seems to be facing a major issue with their stores. They are empty most of the times. The number of staff is mostly higher than the number of customers in the stores.


Microsoft stores are setup with experience centers for everything from their software to hardware. They have big displays in every store where you can try out Xbox. Their are a lot of phones and PCs which you can checkout before buying. They have also setup help desks like Apple Genius Bar but Microsoft calls them Answer Desks.

Apple started their retail operations 6 years before Microsoft but they seem to have a century worth of advantage. Microsoft hasnt released the sales or footfall numbers of their stores but in an interview with Recode, Microsoft retail general manager Kelly Soligon said, “Are we pleased with our traffic? Yeah, Do we always want more? Yes.” She also said that company is bringing some exclusive stuff to stores to bring in more potential customers like early release Xbox games to virtual reality headsets like HTC’s Vive and Microsoft’s own HoloLens.


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