“Selling in direct competition against their own retailers... such as Walmart, Frys, Circuit City (well, not), Radio Shack, Game Stop, and every Mom and Pop computer store in the country. Sounds like a really good business plan to alienate your business partners.”
Apple does sell at Best Buy, Walmart, Radio Shack and at other retailers, and they dont seem to care. And I doubt they are going to go on the warpath over this.
It’s not a zero-sum game. Not everyone will have a MS store in their town or conveniently located. I have one Apple store in my town. If I was at the mall on the other side of town, and needed some iPod accessory, I’m not going to go all the way over to the Apple store to get it.
“Ok, but then you create demand for products that may never see the light of day.”
Not all of those I mentioned are concepts. And if one is and people now want it because they saw it demoed at the Microsoft store, then you now have a market.
” Apple opened the Apple Stores to retail their own products because the retailers were doing a poor job of it. In spot checks, Apple found that display Macs were disconnected, complete turned off, or had been sabotaged with all applications disabled in over 50% of the stores. Sales people in third party stores were found to be deliberately re-directing potential Apple customers to Windows PCs based on false or completely outdated information, FUD, and/or telling them they were “Toy” computers. The sales people, unfamiliar with Macs, would almost always steer customers to the platform they were familiar with... Windows PCs.”
And Now Microsoft is dealing with an equally disrespectful, ignorant, and FUD-armed environment where they now may see a benefit to selling directly to consumers in an environment they create.
Macs are sold only at Best Buy and Fry's as well as at some surviving independents. Walmart, Radio Shack, and the other retailers sell iPods. iPhones are sold at Walmart, Best Buy, AT&T Stores. Windows PCs are literally sold at tens of thousands of outlets.
And Now Microsoft is dealing with an equally disrespectful, ignorant, and FUD-armed environment where they now may see a benefit to selling directly to consumers in an environment they create.
Where are the sales people steering PC sales away from Microsoft to Apples? Most of the people who are buying Macs are EXPERIENCED with Windows. They have been there and don't want it anymore.
I got my first iMac at CompUSA, and bought it in spite of the sales people. I think Walmart and BB see a niche because Apple is being careful not to oversaturate with Apple Stores, so I get some of my stuff at BB, cause the nearest Apple Store is about 100 miles away.
BTW, another poster said MS just keeps getting bigger. True, but almost all their profits still come from Windows and Office. Zune is a money pit. XBox, I'm not sure, but when the last version came out, I think they were selling each box for a $200 loss, hoping to make it up with software sales. I don't know where that branch is financially.