Business and Leadership

Microsoft London Store Opening in July 2019 — Why That Makes Perfect Sense

Microsoft London Store Will Open in July 2019 — And That Makes Perfect Sense

The Microsoft London store is scheduled to open in July of 2019. The new flagship store will be located in Oxford Circus, one of the busiest shopping areas in London. Located just minutes from Apple’s London flagship store, it’s easy for pundits to cal this a direct shot at Apple, but I don’t think that’s the case.

It’s comes as no surprise that Microsoft is making some big, brand-focused moves like this, and it only makes sense as the brand continues to evolve and grow. I believe this is more about Microsoft promoting itself and the company’s retail products than any specific attack on Apple.

Why a Retail Presence is Part of Microsoft’s Game Plan

Microsoft has experienced a meteoric rise since Satya Nadella took the helm of the company. With significant growth in their cloud business, even managing to take a nibble into the AWS marketshare, it’s safe to say the cloud transition planned by the company is now in full swing.

On the retail side, Microsoft’s wins have been a little quieter, but they haven’t gone unnoticed, and a retail presence is absolutely a part of Microsoft’s game plan. The popular Microsoft Surface product line has propelled the company back into a Top 5 global PC maker, achieving a 4.1 percent market share in their fiscal Q1, edging out long time PC maker, Acer. Given the small breadth of the Microsoft Surface product line, this market share is something to note.
Microsoft has also expanded its peripheral products with items like high end headphones to support high fidelity music. And, of course, Xbox reigns as one of the world’s top selling game consoles.

More Retail Locations for Microsoft Makes Sense

Having more retail locations only makes sense for Microsoft. The Microsoft London store allows users to come and experience these products up close and personally, and it will help further the company’s ambitions in winning public perception and gaining market excitement for their future retail endeavors.

So, a Microsoft London store? It makes perfect sense. I believe this move is but one of many to come over the course of the next few years for Microsoft. The brand’s ambition to win market share and consumer sentiment is clear and will be something to watch.

The original version of this article was first published on Futurum Research.

Image credit: Microsoft

Read my other recent articles:

Daniel Newman

Daniel Newman is the Principal Analyst of Futurum Research and the CEO of Broadsuite Media Group. Living his life at the intersection of people and technology, Daniel works with the world’s largest technology brands exploring Digital Transformation and how it is influencing the enterprise. From Big Data to IoT to Cloud Computing, Newman makes the connections between business, people and tech that are required for companies to benefit most from their technology projects, which leads to his ideas regularly being cited in CIO.Com, CIO Review and hundreds of other sites across the world. A 5x Best Selling Author including his most recent “Building Dragons: Digital Transformation in the Experience Economy,” Daniel is also a Forbes, Entrepreneur and Huffington Post Contributor. MBA and Graduate Adjunct Professor, Daniel Newman is a Chicago Native and his speaking takes him around the world each year as he shares his vision of the role technology will play in our future.

Share
Published by
Daniel Newman
Tags: Microsoftmicrosoft london storemicrosoft retail
6 years ago

Recent Posts

Google Faces Renewed Net Neutrality Battle in Europe

In this guest contribution from Steve Vonder Haar, Senior Analyst with Wainhouse, a Futurum Group…

3 years ago

Poly Announces Poly API Marketplace Utilizing RapidAPI Designed to Provide an Assist to its Developer Community

In this guest contribution from Craig Durr, Senior Analyst with Wainhouse, a Futurum Group Company,…

3 years ago

Micron to Build $100 Billion Chip Factory in New York

Futurum's Daniel Newman dives into the recent announcement coming out of Micron, that they will…

3 years ago

The Amazon Devices and Services Event Did Not Disappoint: It’s Clear Amazon’s Focus is on Making Consumers’ Lives Better With its New Smart Home Devices

Futurum analyst Michael Diamond recaps the Amazon Devices and Services event and reviews some of…

3 years ago

Red Hat Announces Latest Version of OpenStack — Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17 — at MWC Las Vegas

Futurum senior analyst Steven Dickens provides his take on the latest announcements coming out of…

3 years ago

Micron Shows Resilience Across Q4 2022 and Full Year Fiscal 2022 Results

Futurum’s Ron Westfall and Daniel Newman examine Micron’s financial results for the fourth quarter 2022…

3 years ago