Do you think Apple is the first company to realize that visually attractive stores lure in customers? Big hanging logos? Jeez, retailers have been doing that for well over a century.
It's interesting to look on Google Maps to see that location, which happens to show it before Microsoft moved in. It was a clothing store. They completely redid the facade but I suspect the basic structure of the building remained intact.
I also notice that Microsoft cleverly edited out the names of the other stores visible in their picture, which is sort of interesting.
“I also notice that Microsoft cleverly edited out the names of the other stores visible in their picture, which is sort of interesting. “
That would be expected. Same reason all media outlets do not mention other companies; associating anyone to your company’s marketing can cause them to sue you.
Sure. But with all the possible visual approaches MS could take, they took the one that -- superficially -- resembles that of the Apple stores. It's not a big deal -- as you point out, Apple was hardly the first. I only mentioned the similarity because it surprised me.
> It's interesting to look on Google Maps to see that location, which happens to show it before Microsoft moved in. It was a clothing store. They completely redid the facade but I suspect the basic structure of the building remained intact.
Yes. The Ars Technica article I linked to in my initial comment has more pics of the interior. It does look a lot like it was a clothing store. It also works pretty nicely as a technology store.
> I also notice that Microsoft cleverly edited out the names of the other stores visible in their picture, which is sort of interesting.
I suspect there's a legal basis for that, to avoid the other companies getting torqued about being included in MS marketing content.