The Microsoft store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall is about to get some company, with new retail stores in the works for the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton and Metrotown Centre in Burnaby, BC just outside of Vancouver.
While Microsoft has pop-up kiosks at other malls including Toronto’s Eaton Centre, as well as Edmonton, Vancouver and Burnaby, and often opens up more during the holiday season, the Alberta and BC locations will be just the second and third locations for Microsoft’s full retail store concept in Canada. Some 73 of the stores have been opened globally.
The West Edmonton Mall location was announced recently, and the Burnaby location was announced Tuesday in a tweet from @MicrosoftStore
A timeline on the expected opening of either location was not immediately available, and a spokesperson for Microsoft Canada declined to comment on the vendor’s retail strategy or plans for further expansion. A Microsoft web page indicates the Burnaby location will be on the ground floor of Metropolis at Metrotown near the Grand Court. The West Edmonton Mall location will be on the Lower Level, near the Ice Palace.
Noticeably absent to date from the list of store and kiosk locations for Microsoft in Canada is any locations in the province of Quebec, perhaps due to the language requirements for working in that market.
The Yorkdale Mall location opened Nov. 16, 2012 with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky officiating and a performance by the band Train. The stores are designed to showcase Microsoft’s range of hardware and software solutions and offerings from select partners, with a special emphasis on showcasing touch-enabled Windows 8 devices.
We spoke with Microsoft about how it will avoid conflict with its channel partners in the SMB portion of its retail strategy during the Yorkdale location opening in this CDN video report.