Microsoft names 32 'pop-up' stores that may sell the Surface RT tablet this fall

10.09.2012
Microsoft today said it would open nearly three dozen 'pop-up' stores this fall in U.S. and Canadian malls and shopping centers to sell its own hardware and software.

Although the company declined to confirm that those stores will sell the -- the name of the Microsoft-made device slated to launch Oct. 26 -- one analyst expects that the tablet will be on the shelves.

"This is certainly attached to the Windows 8, Surface and Windows Phone 8 strategy," said Stephen Baker, a veteran retail analyst with the NPD Group. "They're short of [permanent] stores right now, they're not even where they want to be, but this will let them get more of the notice and interest they want to get [for the Surface]."

The 32 stores, which will appear in U.S. cities such as Atlanta, Denver, New York and Portland, and in Canadian cities as well -- Edmonton and Toronto, for example -- will be temporary outlets open only during the holiday season, not permanent locations like the two-dozen brick-and-mortar Microsoft stores already in operation.

"These holiday stores will allow customers to have hands-on experience with and identify the best Microsoft products for their personal and gift-giving needs," Microsoft said in a statement today.

Microsoft declined to say when the 32 pop-up stores would open, or if some or all would be ready when the company launches Windows 8 and the Surface RT next month.