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75 More Microsoft Stores on Tap

Microsoft will drastically expand the number of Microsoft Stores over the next few years, a senior Microsoft executive said Wednesday.

"We're going to open up to 75 more stores over the next two to three years, and continue to bring our stores outside the U.S. as well," said Microsoft COO Kevin Turner in a keynote Wednesday at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles.

Turner said Microsoft currently has 11 stores open and that the retail locations are helping the company with product development.

"The biggest single thing, ladies and gentlemen, we've learned from the stores is it's helping us to transition from thinking about our customers to thinking like our customers. And giving us that direct customer feedback is what we're learning and getting from our stores, providing great choice, value and service," said Turner, who came to Microsoft from Wal-Mart in 2005 and has reportedly been a forceful advocate in Redmond for expanding the company's retail presence.

Posted by Scott Bekker on July 14, 2011


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