Seattle, WA (Reuters) - February 13, 2009 - Microsoft Corp. announced plans on Thursday to open its own chain of stores and hired a DreamWorks Animation executive to run them. It is unknown what exactly will be sold in the future retail stores but it's likely the 360 will be present. The move follows rival Apple Inc's successful foray into retailing, but comes at a time when consumer spending is under pressure due to the recession.
The company did not say how many stores it was looking to open, or when, or which products would be available. That is to be decided by David Porter, a former DreamWorks executive, which Microsoft named as its new vice president of retail stores on Thursday.
