Microsoft pulled out all the stops for last week’s grand opening of its six-year-old retail chain’s first-ever flagship store.
The 22,369-square-foot showplace occupies five floors of prime Manhattan real estate at Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street, just four blocks south of Apple’s own de facto flagship.
The new facility is far and away the largest of the software company’s 110 largely mall-based shops. But like its predecessors, it provides an interactive playground of products by Microsoft and its vendor partners, only larger, including a dedicated third-floor for gaming and productivity devices from Dell.
On hand for the ribbon-cutting was Microsoft COO Kevin Turner, New York City Deputy Mayor Richard Buery, and over a thousand customers who lined up early for the just-released Surface Book notebook and Surface Pro 4 tablet, and a chance to win free tickets to a grand-opening Pitbull concert held that night at Rockefeller Center.
Here’s a look at the festivities, and at the grandest showcase of the Microsoft platform to date.
