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Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores

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Re: Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores

#131

Post by pkulak »

xphilter wrote: post #40
AlphaWeaver wrote: post #21

This is a real shame. We have (had?) a Microsoft Store in the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham), and my visits to that store were always really enjoyable. I made several warranty claims in-store, and they went above and beyond to help me out, even when my grounds for a claim were kinda shaky. Microsoft did a really good job of hiring diverse talent, and every store-clerk I ever interacted with was smart, nice, and seemed to…

I agree, but I kinda feel like the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere was more of an indication that the stores weren’t doing so hot. Every time I went to one is was because it was quieter and lower key than other stores. And I never actually wanted to buy things. Maybe that’s good(ish) marketing but probably doesn’t make good business sense.

That's a good point. I hate going to the Apple store because you pretty much have to get in line behind a dozen other people for the privilege of buying a $1000 phone or $2500 laptop. The Microsoft store down the block was always super chill by comparison...

Re: Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores

#132

Post by pwinnski »

gipp wrote: post #93
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is purely anecdotal. Take it with a grain of salt. We have a "high-end" Simon mall, in a town near where I live. It's quite "upscale," with Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, etc. It has an Apple Store near the South entrance, and a Microsoft Store, near the center. The Apple Store is always packed. I haven't been there in a few months, so I have no idea what's going on with it at the moment, but it has always be…

Sure, but a large portion of the Apple store crowds has always been people just hanging around and goofing off on the laptops. IIRC it's policy in those places to always let people do that however long they want, even if there's clearly no intent to buy anything. I've always wondered what portion of those crowds are actually customers. EDIT: Yes, everyone, I understand the marketing and lifetime-value reasons for doi…

Apple retails stores top every list of revenue per square foot. It's not even close[0].

Crowds may be anecdotal, but the crowds clearly do translate into revenue for Apple.

The link spells out revenue per square foot for Apple as $5546, vs an average of $325. Second and third places bring in $3721 and $2951 per square foot.

[0] https://chainstoreage.com/news/most-profitable-retailers-sal...

Re: Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores

#133

Post by GeekyBear »

baybal2 wrote: post #54
mytherin wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks more to me like they are giving up on their Surface line-up specifically, rather than all their consumer focused products. The Microsoft stores & Surface line was Microsoft's attempt at copying Apple with expensive devices with solid build quality and good support. It saw some success but apparently not enough.

> expensive devices with solid build quality and good support. The part in the middle was definitely missing

The part at the end as well.

https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/microsoft-surface/64095/welc...

Re: Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores

#134

Post by sylens »

muststopmyths wrote: post #56
AlphaWeaver wrote: post #21

This is a real shame. We have (had?) a Microsoft Store in the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham), and my visits to that store were always really enjoyable. I made several warranty claims in-store, and they went above and beyond to help me out, even when my grounds for a claim were kinda shaky. Microsoft did a really good job of hiring diverse talent, and every store-clerk I ever interacted with was smart, nice, and seemed to…

Same with the SF Westfield Center store. Great staff. It was a good place to check out various Surfaces in person as well. I will say, the surfaces/laptops side of the store was usually empty. Some kids playing with the Xbox or people at the counter getting help seemed to be the extent of traffic the past couple of years. They seem to be aggressively destroying any paltry remaining goodwill with consumer enthusiasts.…

I always got the impression the schools were like after-school daycare for kids. A lot of the demo computers as well as the demo XBoxes were always full of kids playing Minecraft, Overwatch, etc. The other ones might have kids watching Youtube or Twitch (never Mixer) of the same types of games.

Re: Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores

#135

Post by donarb »

chadcmulligan wrote: post #30
geerlingguy wrote: post #20

A lot of people mention that the MS stores were a 'brand image' or 'marketing' front, but if that's the case, I can see why they closed. The three or four I visited were very near an Apple Store, and while the Apple Store across the way was always bustling and had people standing around with their Apple devices even outside the store front (I guess waiting for Genius appointments)... the Microsoft stores were always…

> I guess waiting for Genius appointments I'm convinced this is deliberate - the apple store is full of blue shirts and people waiting for their appointments / devices to be fixed. It makes the shops look like they're busy, most shops would not make people wait around like that for things to be fixed, but apple gets away with it somehow. It's all very clever - I call it apple theatre, and yes I participate myself. I'…

Apple stores do more than sell hardware and handle repairs. They offer numerous classes for users on how to use different apps on your phone, how to create music and movies with GarageBand/iMovie, how to take pictures and edit them, among other things. So people standing around waiting could be waiting for a scheduled talk as well.

Re: Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores

#136

Post by ta17711771 »

reaperducer wrote: post #118
philshem wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I made several warranty claims in-store, and they went above and beyond to help me out, even when my grounds for a claim were kinda shaky. Maybe having a physical store that lowers the barrier for making warranty claims, especially “shaky” ones, isn’t a profit maker. ;)

Maybe having a physical store that lowers the barrier for making warranty claims, especially “shaky” ones, isn’t a profit maker. Cost to fix a shaky piece of kit: $100 Future sale made because someone is happy with your service: $1,000 While I like to blame this sort of myopic thinking on SV, it seems like an entire generation, or two, has forgotten that if you make someone happy today, you've made a customer for lif…

> Cost to fix a shaky piece of kit: $100

if they spend an hour or two fixing a screen your kid smashed for free, the screen costs $30-$50 wholesale, 1-2 hrs of labor, and fixed costs for the day like power, insurance, lease payment, etc...

Re: Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores

#137

Post by sbisson »

Of course the other question is: will there be any malls left open for stores like these? I suspect this a calculation many retail stores are toying with at the moment; we're in the middle of a fundamental shift in retail to online and local stores.

We've already seen one mall owner in the UK go into administration.

Re: Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores

#138

Post by saalweachter »

ptero wrote: post #104
AlphaWeaver wrote: post #21

This is a real shame. We have (had?) a Microsoft Store in the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham), and my visits to that store were always really enjoyable. I made several warranty claims in-store, and they went above and beyond to help me out, even when my grounds for a claim were kinda shaky. Microsoft did a really good job of hiring diverse talent, and every store-clerk I ever interacted with was smart, nice, and seemed to…

Agree on "this is a real shame" feeling. I am not, in general, a heavy Microsoft user: my workstations both at home and in the office run Linux. But a few years ago, when I saw a Microsoft Surface tablet when I walked by the Microsoft store as I was waiting for my wife at the mall I was wowed by its ergonomics. Within three months I bought one as a personal travel laptop and another one for work as my main laptop. An…

I was also a fan of the early Surface Pros, although I didn't like the larger form factor of the later models. The early models were small enough to fit in a big coat pocket.

Re: Microsoft to permanently close its retail stores

#139

Post by sylens »

otterpro wrote: post #86

I've been to MS store only once last year to buy a laptop that was on sale. It was a good and pleasant buying experience and the staff was very friendly. However, I noticed that there weren't a lot of variety of hardware on sale. I wish they had more computer stuff, like GPU, mechanical keyboards, motherboards, etc.... Imagine if they were like mini Micro-center, I'd bet they would've been a lot more popular than App…

This would have been a great direction for them to go in - but the desktop building market is pretty niche these days compared to the people in the market for a MacBook Air or similar alternative.
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