Microsoft To Open Retail Stores

Microsoft aims to bring the fight to Apple’s doorstep, literally, by opening a few of its own retail stores right next to existing Apple Stores. That’s what Microsoft COO Kevin Turner revealed during his keynote at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans. Some of these stores will be opened later this fall, making it tie in nicely with the time when Microsoft will formally roll out WIndows 7 this October 22, 2009. Hopefully this idea won’t suffer the same fate as the Big M’s retail storefront in San Francisco’s Metreon center many moons ago, seeing closure back in 2001. Do you think it is necessary for Microsoft to open up a retail store, and just how profitable will such stores be?