Microsoft has a history of moving into Apple's turf. Now, it seems the company is looking to continue its neighborly ways in the most expensive patch of land in the United States.
Microsoft is said to be in talks to open its first retail store in New York City.
According to a report, Microsoft is currently in negotiations to open a store on Fifth Avenue. The possible location, at 677 Fifth Avenue near 53rd Street, which is just a few minutes from Apple's glass cube store between 58th and 59th Street.
"For Microsoft to land on Fifth Avenue just a few blocks from Apple would certainly be interesting... It would be very dramatic," Faith Hope Consolo, a retail broker with Douglas Ellman, said.
The retail space, which occupies an 8,700-square-foot area, used to be a store for luxury fashion company Fendi. The retailer reportedly left the space last year to transfer to a spot on Madison Avenue.
According to Consolo, the rent for ground floor retail spaces on Fifth Avenue are some of the most expensive in the country. Some stores have been valued for as much as $3,500 per square foot.
For its part, Microsoft has neither confirmed nor denied the negotiations for the retail location. "We are always working to identify the best possible locations for our Microsoft retail stores to deliver the choice value and service our customers are looking for, but do not have any additional information to share at this time," a company spokesperson said.
Currently, Microsoft has over 50 retail stores located in the US, Puerto Rico and Canada. Microsoft has a tendency of opening retail outlets next to Apple stores, perhaps as a way of luring customers away from its competitors. The company was said to have employed the strategy for several of its locations in Palo Alto, California.
However, the move may also be part of Microsoft's strategy to bring its products to the people who can afford it. Case in point, its most expensive Surface Pro 3 model, which retails at just under $2,000.
