It's about to be officially opened for business.
Microsoft will open its first flagship store on New York City's Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street on Monday — just a few blocks from Apple's iconic glass cube flagship store. According to a press release from the tech company, the 22,369 square-foot flagship store had been upwards of six years in the making and will allow customers to not only purchase all Microsoft products, but also get hands-on with them.
"Our store on Fifth Avenue — as well as every other one of our locations across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada — is here to showcase the best of Microsoft to the local community," said David Porter, corporate vice president of Worldwide Retail and Online Stores at Microsoft, said in a company press release statement. "We exist to build relationships with our customers, one person at a time, and we are excited to do that on Fifth Avenue starting today."
The store's first customers will get special deals on Microsoft's Surface tablets and Xbox One. In addition, the first 1,000 people in line will receive free tickets to Microsoft's community concert, featuring Pitbull, on Monday night at Rockefeller Center.
Just as Apple's Genius Bar does, Microsoft's flagship store will feature an Answer Desk for technical questions, troubleshooting and repairs. Microsoft's store will also have a community theater and an immersive video wall.
As for products, everything from the new Surface, Lumia and Microsoft Band will be on display. The store also plans on celebrating the launch of Halo 5: Guardians, hosting a midnight launch event with fans beginning Monday night at 9 p.m. EST. To celebrate the store's opening and release of the game, Microsoft has been giving away Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition Xbox One consoles outside of its store, as evidenced via the new store's Twitter account.
