It may not make hardware, but the world's biggest software firm will open 75 stores within three years to promote both hardware, including mobile phones, and software directly to consumers, according
to COO Kevin Turner. Many of the shops will be located in the northeastern U.S., Florida and California and outside the U.S.
Microsoft started opening branded stores two years ago,
some in Apple's home town, Cupertino, Calif. The retail expansion shows the Redmond, Wash., company is willing to invest a "significant amount of money" to counter Apple's successful retail efforts,
said Wes Miller, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft in Kirkland, Wash. "They can't stand back idly by and watch Apple infiltrate from a consumer perspective," Miller said. "This is Microsoft's idea
of how they counter that."
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