Microsoft: We’ve Made Scads of Money, Now, Let’s Open Some Stores to Lose It!

Yes, it’s happening. Microsoft has the idea that opening a storefront will somehow be a good thing this year.

In truth, the lack of things to fill a store would seem to make it an improbable thing to do. You can only stack Xboxes, Zunes, and palettes of Windows 7 a few times before it becomes tedious.

Certainly, Microsoft will have nine or ten PCs on display, each loaded with a flavor of Windows, and of course, Office. Oh I suppose there could be a wall of Microsoft mice, but it would be too hard to keep up with the ones that should be marked current, versus those marked discontinued. (Newegg currently has 89 models from the company.)

Many will make the comparison to Apple’s stores, but that will be useless, as Microsoft has no cachet in that area. It is not cool. It does not have manufactured items that are innovative or artistically interesting. Apple has mystique; the Microsoft equivalent is FUD. If you think about it, Microsoft does not have a well known company logo – Windows, yes, Office, of course, Microsoft, not so much.

The company is not good at enlightening us about their products with extremely well written manuals, so it doesn’t follow that the stores would be bastions of learning, where people could learn about the software offered. That has always been left to third parties, and we know Microsoft doesn’t like to share the spotlight, so that’s off the list.

the kitschy ads and Apple-anger will only take a storefront so far

Microsoft doesn’t go into much detail about what exactly a Microsoft-branded retail store will consist of. The company will be aiming for individual consumers rather than businesses with retail locations. If done right, the stores could improve Microsoft’s image as a company, but at the same time, does Microsoft really want to introduce competition for those loyal businesses that sell its products? The company says it will help those businesses by giving them information on what it has learned, but if that cuts into their sales, is it worth the effort?

In the article about this, Ars Technica has the above paragraph. The lack of a plan is what immediately comes to mind here. Some poor slob is going to be promoted to run this, and in six months, when Mr. Ballmer doesn’t see amazing results, the stores will close, and the person that was saddled with this duty will join the ranks of the unemployed, forever branded as an ineffective manager and dolt.

Microsoft needs to face it, as do many other companies in the world – sometimes the business should do what it does best, and accept with gratitude any small improvements in efficiency that are achieved. Companies need to know that part of managing a mature company means that the incredulous profit margins are behind, and that maintenance of profit is the goal, and obtaining a flat, and not negative, sales graph the reward.

On the upside, this could lead to the retirement of Mr. Ballmer – just think of it, no more monkey-boy dances!

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It’s not easy to juggle a pregnant wife and a troubled child, but somehow I managed to fit in eight hours of TV a day.Homer Simpson