Soon, Apple won't be the only big tech company with a flagship store on Manhattan's ritzy Fifth Avenue.
Microsoft is planning to open up its first flagship store at 677 Fifth Ave., about five blocks away from Apple's iconic cube store, the company confirmed to The Wall Street Journal late Sunday.
"As our first flagship store, it will serve as the centerpiece of our Microsoft Stores experience," David Porter, VP of worldwide retail stores for Microsoft, wrote in a blog post on Monday. "This is a goal we’ve had since day one -- we were only waiting for the right location. And now we have it."
Porter said the Fifth Avenue location was "five years in the making" and will serve as "an experiential space" to interact with customers in "new and innovative ways."
News of the Fifth Avenue location was first reported by The Wall Street Journal late Sunday.
Microsoft opened its first retail store in 2009 and now has more than 100 retail locations throughout North America. That still puts it well behind Apple, which opened its first retail store in 2001 and currently has more than 400 locations in countries around the world.
Microsoft's stores are very much inspired by Apple's retail operations. In fact, Microsoft recruited George Blankenship, one of the execs who shaped Apple's retail efforts, to help kickstart its retail operation a few years ago.