Microsoft?…Retail?

Microsoft took a page from Apple’s playbook and created a concept retail store inside a Redmond (Wash.) warehouse. They also apparently ripped out the entire contents of Best Buy’s playbook, since the interior of the store bears every resemblance to every big-box retailer in America. The tall ceilings, walls, flooring, shelving, signage–well, everything!–is just like Best Buy. The only thing that Microsoft is really testing here is the retail technology, with customized displays (no doubt running Windows) to demo software. There’s none of Apple’s attention to detail. Literally every single aspect of an Apple store is pondered, considered, evaluated, revised and then executed immaculately. In contrast, Microsoft’s interior is simply a copy of bad design and bad retail. Take a look at these Microsoft-supplied photos, and see if you can see what’s unique [photo #1 / #2]. It’s not the product placement, the aisle end-caps, the flooring, the middle-of-the-store support beams, the product hangers, or that terrible, gray-painted, adjustable shelving. And if you want to read a good piece about Apple retail, check Robert Scoble’s piece.