Microsoft set to open its first Canadian store in Toronto
The Toronto Star has just reported that Microsoft has applied for building permits to open its first retail store in Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall. While the fact that Microsoft even has stand-alone stores is news to us, it seems they are already pretty well established in the United States, with 20-odd stores set up across the country. News of the store opening comes soon after Microsoft launched its new tablet, the Microsoft Surface, earlier this week, stating that the product would only be sold through official Microsoft channels. A storefront in Toronto means Canadian customers won’t be restricted to purchasing the Surface online, a strategic move for Microsoft as it attempts to draw customers away from other popular tablets, like RIM’s BlackBerry Playbook and Amazon’s Kindle (but really we suspect that it just wants to stick it to Apple’s iPad).
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/style/microsoft-store-toronto-location/&title=Microsoft set to open its first Canadian store in Toronto&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Microsoft-store-624x457.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_145010" align="aligncenter" width="655" caption="An example of a Microsoft store in Houston (Image: Ron Stinnett)"][/caption]
The Toronto Star has just reported that Microsoft has applied for building permits to open its first retail store in Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall. While the fact that Microsoft even has stand-alone stores is news to us, it seems they are already pretty well established in the United States, with 20-odd stores set up across the country. News of the store opening comes soon after Microsoft launched its new tablet, the Microsoft Surface, earlier this week, stating that the product would only be sold through official Microsoft channels. A storefront in Toronto means Canadian customers won't be restricted to purchasing the Surface online, a strategic move for Microsoft as it attempts to draw customers away from other popular tablets, like RIM’s BlackBerry Playbook and Amazon’s Kindle (but really we suspect that it just wants to stick it to Apple’s iPad).){kind=link}
Sweet
Always one step behind Apple…is that the store design?….make that 2 steps behind
Nice store design
Hey Henry Blumenthal,
You must be a wizard if you can tell what the whole store looks like just by seeing 40sq feet of it in a picture. Something tells me that you’re easily manipulated though and likely rub against your iPad at night, judging by you comment though…
Actually Rob – Henry is not that far off. Their store opening celebrations and store layouts are similar to Apple’s.They even have a “Guru Bar” – that idea sounds very familiar.
I think after bailing Apple out, they can pretty much do what they want and call it their own..