I have been wondering the same thing since Microsoft took another stab at brick and mortar retail.
My gut tells me that, while these locations are not losing money, they are not very lucrative either and the reason is this. If Microsoft was making money, they would have a strong incentive to publish "some" information to that effect. Any positive data would help to drive up the stock value.
If Microsoft were losing money, they would be absolutely silent about the venture until they quietly killed it.
That fact that we've heard very little, but they're still opening stores tells me that they are right in the middle.
If Microsoft were making money, there would be more than 4 stores by now.
They all copy from each other. Some more than others, but hopefully you don't believe that Apple always creates things first. I would say it's fact that Apple takes existing technology and just implements it better. They still copy the initial idea from somewhere.
Where as Microsoft copies and more often than not makes a complete hash of it.
If Microsoft were making money, there would be more than 4 stores by now.
Don't forget they were hyped for months before one even opened (last fall, I think). So we probably shouldn't call it a colossal failure, yet. Anyway, they haven't lost enough money to realize that it was a bad idea. I'm sure they envisioned their share in the retail space would mimic their OS market share .
Quote:
Originally Posted by acrobratt
I have been wondering the same thing since Microsoft took another stab at brick and mortar retail.
My gut tells me that, while these locations are not losing money, they are not very lucrative either and the reason is this. If Microsoft was making money, they would have a strong incentive to publish "some" information to that effect. Any positive data would help to drive up the stock value.
If Microsoft were losing money, they would be absolutely silent about the venture until they quietly killed it.
That fact that we've heard very little, but they're still opening stores tells me that they are right in the middle.
I don't know about sales, but number of customers has to be an indicator. I have passed by the Scottsdale Microsoft store a few times, but I have never seen more than a few customers in there. The last time, there were 8-9 customers and 12 or so employees. I started to take a picture, but then I felt guilty. Some of them were looking around like they were hoping nobody spotted them in there. I figured they had suffered enough. But I have never been in an Apple store anywhere at any time that didn't have a lot of customers. I'd like to know a body count and $ sales per body for both.
By the same logic, "elves" would be "elfs," and that just looks ridiculous.
"Lemme go to the 'Keebler Elfs' for my cookies..." -- they'd punch me in the mouth!
(The answer, for those playing along at home: you just cited the man who initiated the use of "dwarves" instead of "dwarfs." Yup, try to put out that fire with gasoline...)
. but there are things that they can do in their own store to show off features of Windows 7 that places like Best Buy simply won't do. .....
Apple is making more profit per store than almost most of the industry. I have to wonder just how much Microsoft is making profit when it sells an HP computer..... Remember the windows os is what they are making money on.... It goes for what....... $ 50 per computer...
Sorry, I see Microsoft doing some advertising here, but that is all... they are spending lots of money, making NO profit and helping sell HP computers........
Apple is making more profit per store than almost most of the industry. I have to wonder just how much Microsoft is making profit when it sells an HP computer..... Remember the windows os is what they are making money on.... It goes for what....... $ 50 per computer...
Sorry, I see Microsoft doing some advertising here, but that is all... they are spending lots of money, making NO profit and helping sell HP computers........
Er what was the purpose of the store again.???
Just a thought,
en
I've never been to a M$ store, and don't _ever_ plan to: but what exactly do they sell? Just PCs, win7 and office?
MS will fail miserably with their stores. They don't really have anything remotely interesting or even comparable to what Apple has to offer, both in terms of hardware and software.
OK. Show us Apple version of the Xbox 360 console.
Apple is making more profit per store than almost most of the industry. I have to wonder just how much Microsoft is making profit when it sells an HP computer..... Remember the windows os is what they are making money on.... It goes for what....... $ 50 per computer...
Sorry, I see Microsoft doing some advertising here, but that is all... they are spending lots of money, making NO profit and helping sell HP computers........
Er what was the purpose of the store again.???
Just a thought,
en
Sell Xbox consoles, accesories and games
Sell Windows phones, Zune and Kin
Sell Games for Windows
Sell PC and Microsoft accessories
Sell the fastest selling OS of the world aka Windows 7
Because you are dummy than dumber. How the heck you can't install an almost 10 years old OS? That speaks miles about your knowledge.
Wrong. MS software is flawed by design, and in this day and age technology is supposed to be accessible to anyone. I am a techie myself but having to deal with these annoyances constantly is just frustrating, even insulting. I prefer to focus my energy on my work, and not have it wear off setting up the workplace. The day MS get's this, they'll have happy customers. Untill then, they're living off the win/office lock-in.
Leave it to the close minded group of Apple fans to think there is more here than meets the eye where Microsoft is concerned. Check your back history people before you spout Apple goodness and Microsoft.....bad.
Microsoft Store openings
October 22, 2009 (Thursday) in Scottsdale, AZ
October 29, 2009 (Thursday) in Mission Viejo, CA
June 10, 2010 (Thursday) in Lone Tree, CO
June 24, 2010 (Thursday) in San Diego, CA
iPhone releases
June 29, 2007 (Friday), iPhone
July 11, 2008 (Friday), iPhone 3G
June 19, 2009 (Friday), iPhone 3Gs
June 24, 2010 (Thursday), iPhone 4
If anything and knowing how Steve Jobs doesn't let anything go I'd say Steve is doing this to spite Microsoft. The PC vs. Mac era has long been dead yet Apple fans and Steve himself just can't let the past stay in the past.
Have some perspective, this isn't Microsoft doing this to try and "face off" against the iPhone as much as your little Apple worlds would like to think otherwise. Store openings are planned months in advance, the iPhone 4 could easily have debuted again on a Friday like history has shown. Why make it a Thursday? I think Steve wants to stick it to Microsoft just because they copied the Apple store look.
Comments
I have been wondering the same thing since Microsoft took another stab at brick and mortar retail.
My gut tells me that, while these locations are not losing money, they are not very lucrative either and the reason is this. If Microsoft was making money, they would have a strong incentive to publish "some" information to that effect. Any positive data would help to drive up the stock value.
If Microsoft were losing money, they would be absolutely silent about the venture until they quietly killed it.
That fact that we've heard very little, but they're still opening stores tells me that they are right in the middle.
If Microsoft were making money, there would be more than 4 stores by now.
Wait, what? Since when are lanyards iconic? I use one every day. It's called wearing an ID. Guess mine isn't cool and iconic though.
...that you don't own a Mac of any flavor and you are on AI because you just like to rub pixels with the iconic and laconic denizens of the threads.
And some of us wear lanyards as style statements!
If this is such a non threat (Correct) why so many responses?
'nuf said.
They all copy from each other. Some more than others, but hopefully you don't believe that Apple always creates things first. I would say it's fact that Apple takes existing technology and just implements it better. They still copy the initial idea from somewhere.
Where as Microsoft copies and more often than not makes a complete hash of it.
If Microsoft were making money, there would be more than 4 stores by now.
Don't forget they were hyped for months before one even opened (last fall, I think). So we probably shouldn't call it a colossal failure, yet. Anyway, they haven't lost enough money to realize that it was a bad idea. I'm sure they envisioned their share in the retail space would mimic their OS market share
I have been wondering the same thing since Microsoft took another stab at brick and mortar retail.
My gut tells me that, while these locations are not losing money, they are not very lucrative either and the reason is this. If Microsoft was making money, they would have a strong incentive to publish "some" information to that effect. Any positive data would help to drive up the stock value.
If Microsoft were losing money, they would be absolutely silent about the venture until they quietly killed it.
That fact that we've heard very little, but they're still opening stores tells me that they are right in the middle.
I don't know about sales, but number of customers has to be an indicator. I have passed by the Scottsdale Microsoft store a few times, but I have never seen more than a few customers in there. The last time, there were 8-9 customers and 12 or so employees. I started to take a picture, but then I felt guilty. Some of them were looking around like they were hoping nobody spotted them in there. I figured they had suffered enough. But I have never been in an Apple store anywhere at any time that didn't have a lot of customers. I'd like to know a body count and $ sales per body for both.
I'll go with J.R.R. Tolkien. Dwarfs
Oh, goodness no -- you're JOKING, right?
I suggest you go IMMEDIATELY and check the texts.
By the same logic, "elves" would be "elfs," and that just looks ridiculous.
"Lemme go to the 'Keebler Elfs' for my cookies..." -- they'd punch me in the mouth!
(The answer, for those playing along at home: you just cited the man who initiated the use of "dwarves" instead of "dwarfs." Yup, try to put out that fire with gasoline...)
If this is such a non threat (Correct) why so many responses?
Because it's FUN!!! Or something that passes for fun.
Tumbleweeds are fun -- until they attack you...
. but there are things that they can do in their own store to show off features of Windows 7 that places like Best Buy simply won't do. .....
Apple is making more profit per store than almost most of the industry. I have to wonder just how much Microsoft is making profit when it sells an HP computer..... Remember the windows os is what they are making money on.... It goes for what....... $ 50 per computer...
Sorry, I see Microsoft doing some advertising here, but that is all... they are spending lots of money, making NO profit and helping sell HP computers........
Er what was the purpose of the store again.???
Just a thought,
en
Apple is making more profit per store than almost most of the industry. I have to wonder just how much Microsoft is making profit when it sells an HP computer..... Remember the windows os is what they are making money on.... It goes for what....... $ 50 per computer...
Sorry, I see Microsoft doing some advertising here, but that is all... they are spending lots of money, making NO profit and helping sell HP computers........
Er what was the purpose of the store again.???
Just a thought,
en
I've never been to a M$ store, and don't _ever_ plan to: but what exactly do they sell? Just PCs, win7 and office?
MS will fail miserably with their stores. They don't really have anything remotely interesting or even comparable to what Apple has to offer, both in terms of hardware and software.
OK. Show us Apple version of the Xbox 360 console.
this is a major reason why i love the mac so much. why is windows so so f'cking difficult?
Because you are dummy than dumber. How the heck you can't install an almost 10 years old OS? That speaks miles about your knowledge.
Apple is making more profit per store than almost most of the industry. I have to wonder just how much Microsoft is making profit when it sells an HP computer..... Remember the windows os is what they are making money on.... It goes for what....... $ 50 per computer...
Sorry, I see Microsoft doing some advertising here, but that is all... they are spending lots of money, making NO profit and helping sell HP computers........
Er what was the purpose of the store again.???
Just a thought,
en
Sell Xbox consoles, accesories and games
Sell Windows phones, Zune and Kin
Sell Games for Windows
Sell PC and Microsoft accessories
Sell the fastest selling OS of the world aka Windows 7
Sell Microsoft Office for Mac and Windows
Sell Xbox consoles, accesories and games
Sell Windows phones, Zune and Kin
Sell Games for Windows
Sell PC and Microsoft accessories
Sell the fastest selling OS of the world aka Windows 7
Sell Microsoft Office for Mac and Windows
Wow! That's a big and exciting range of products!
\\sarcasm
If this is such a non threat (Correct) why so many responses?
We'renot scared; we're laughing our a**es out.
Because you are dummy than dumber. How the heck you can't install an almost 10 years old OS? That speaks miles about your knowledge.
Wrong. MS software is flawed by design, and in this day and age technology is supposed to be accessible to anyone. I am a techie myself but having to deal with these annoyances constantly is just frustrating, even insulting. I prefer to focus my energy on my work, and not have it wear off setting up the workplace. The day MS get's this, they'll have happy customers. Untill then, they're living off the win/office lock-in.
Microsoft Store openings
October 22, 2009 (Thursday) in Scottsdale, AZ
October 29, 2009 (Thursday) in Mission Viejo, CA
June 10, 2010 (Thursday) in Lone Tree, CO
June 24, 2010 (Thursday) in San Diego, CA
iPhone releases
June 29, 2007 (Friday), iPhone
July 11, 2008 (Friday), iPhone 3G
June 19, 2009 (Friday), iPhone 3Gs
June 24, 2010 (Thursday), iPhone 4
If anything and knowing how Steve Jobs doesn't let anything go I'd say Steve is doing this to spite Microsoft. The PC vs. Mac era has long been dead yet Apple fans and Steve himself just can't let the past stay in the past.
Have some perspective, this isn't Microsoft doing this to try and "face off" against the iPhone as much as your little Apple worlds would like to think otherwise. Store openings are planned months in advance, the iPhone 4 could easily have debuted again on a Friday like history has shown. Why make it a Thursday? I think Steve wants to stick it to Microsoft just because they copied the Apple store look.