store windows phone store or windows marketplace . this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article is missing information about flagship microsoft store in new york city and sydney . please expand the article to include this information . further details may exist on the talk page . november 2015 this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . october 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message microsoft store type subsidiary industry computer hardware computer software consumer electronics founded october 22 2009 ; 6 years ago 2009 10 22 number of locations world 116 stores us 106 can 8 australia 1 puerto rico 1 1 products personal computers smartphones xbox consoles computer games video games and computer repair computer mice software & 3rd party software and accessories microsoft surface devices various other windows tablets parent microsoft website www.microsoftstore.com microsoft store is a chain of retail stores and an online shopping site owned and operated by microsoft and dealing in computers computer software and consumer electronics . the stores aim to improve the pc and microsoft retail purchase experience for consumers worldwide and help consumers make more informed decisions about their pc and software purchases . 2 the microsoft store offers signature pcs and tablets like the microsoft surface and from third parties such as hp acer dell lenovo and sony without demos or trialware pre installed free trials of certain third party software that expire after a limited time . it also offers windows most retail versions microsoft office mobile devices running the windows phone os xbox 360 and xbox one game consoles games and services including on site xbox diagnostics . the answers desk helps to answer questions related to windows office and other microsoft products . the stores also offer class sessions as well as individual appointments . the first two microsoft stores opened within a week of the windows 7 launch in scottsdale arizona and mission viejo california . 3 additional stores have since opened in california colorado georgia illinois minnesota missouri texas and washington . at the 2011 professional developers conference microsoft announced that they intend to open 75 new stores in the next three years . 4 the first store outside the u.s. and the first of four stores in canada opened in toronto on november 16 2012 5 while the first store outside the north america and first store in asia pacific and second flagship store 6 opened in sydney australia on november 12 2015 7 contents 1 history 2 shopping experience 3 store locations 4 flagship store locations 5 microsoft store online 6 other formats 6.1 microsoft specialty stores 6.2 best buy windows stores 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit microsoft s first experience with a retail store was located in the metreon in san francisco . it was owned and operated by sony retail entertainment 8 and ran from 1999 9 to 2001 . 10 in 2009 microsoft built a retail experience center in their redmond wa headquarters 11 and announced plans to build its own retail stores . 12 on october 22 2009 the same day as the windows 7 launch microsoft opened a retail store in scottsdale arizona . a week later another opened in mission viejo california . five additional stores were opened in 2010 . a ninth store opened in atlanta in may 2011 with two more openings planned in houston and los angeles by the end of june . shopping experience edit the microsoft store is similar to the popular apple store concept which has been largely successful . 13 the concept aims to give a greater level of customer satisfaction by not only having sales staff but also employing technical advisers similar to apple s geniuses to assist customers with technical questions and issues . in addition specialists or trainers are employed to show customers how to get the most out of their software . xbox one consoles are also available to entertain patrons . store locations edit a microsoft store bearing the 2009 2012 logo this table is incomplete . december 2012 microsoft store in yorkdale toronto the first store outside the u.s. microsoft store in new york number city state province location opened 1 . scottsdale arizona scottsdale fashion square october 22 2009 1 2 . mission viejo california the shops at mission viejo october 29 2009 1 3 . lone tree colorado park meadows june 10 2010 1 4 . san diego california fashion valley mall june 24 2010 14 5 . oak brook illinois oakbrook center november 4 2010 15 6 . bloomington minnesota mall of america november 6 2010 16 7 . bellevue washington bellevue square november 18 2010 17 8 . costa mesa california south coast plaza march 24 2011 1 9 . atlanta georgia lenox square may 27 2011 1 10 . houston texas the galleria june 23 2011 1 11 . los angeles california westfield century city june 30 2011 1 12 . seattle washington university village october 20 2011 1 13 . santa clara california westfield valley fair november 10 2011 1 14 . mclean virginia tysons corner center november 17 2011 1 15 . palo alto california stanford shopping center april 19 2012 18 16 . austin texas the domain april 26 2012 1 17 . bridgewater new jersey bridgewater commons may 19 2012 1 18 . freehold new jersey freehold raceway mall june 9 2012 1 19 . danbury connecticut danbury fair mall june 23 2012 1 20 . overland park kansas oak park mall june 28 2012 1 21 . arlington virginia the fashion centre at pentagon city august 9 2012 1 22 . orlando florida the florida mall august 16 2012 1 23 . boston massachusetts the shops at prudential center august 23 2012 1 19 24 . huntington station new york walt whitman shops september 28 2012 20 21 25 . white plains new york the westchester september 28 2012 1 26 . newark delaware christiana mall september 29 2012 1 27 . salem new hampshire the mall at rockingham park september 29 2012 1 28 . cincinnati ohio kenwood towne centre october 30 2012 1 29 . san juan puerto rico plaza las am ricas november 1 2012 1 30 . corte madera california the village at corte madera november 3 2012 1 31 . toronto ontario yorkdale shopping centre november 16 2012 5 32 . san antonio texas the shops at la cantera march 9 2013 1 33 . salt lake city utah city creek center april 11 2013 1 34 . beachwood ohio beachwood place april 13 2013 1 35 . san francisco california westfield san francisco centre april 25 2013 1 36 . miami florida dadeland mall may 18 2013 1 37 . st. louis missouri saint louis galleria june 7 2013 1 38 . natick massachusetts natick mall june 8 2013 1 39 . honolulu hawaii ala moana center june 13 2013 1 40 . portland oregon pioneer place june 20 2013 1 41 . schaumburg illinois woodfield mall june 22 2013 1 42 . troy michigan somerset collection june 28 2013 1 43 . indianapolis indiana the fashion mall at keystone june 29 2013 1 44 . burlington massachusetts burlington mall september 19 2013 1 45 . orlando florida the mall at millenia october 22 2013 1 46 . edmonton alberta west edmonton mall october 26 2013 1 47 . burnaby british columbia metropolis at metrotown november 7 2013 1 48 . las vegas nevada fashion show mall november 14 2013 1 49 . buffalo new york walden galleria november 16 2013 1 50 . oklahoma city oklahoma penn square mall november 16 2013 1 51 . jacksonville florida st. johns town center november 22 2013 1 52 . mississauga ontario square one shopping centre february 9 2014 1 53 . farmington connecticut westfarms march 1 2014 1 54 . broomfield colorado flatiron crossing may 15 2014 22 55 . omaha nebraska westroads mall may 15 2014 22 56 . knoxville tennessee west town mall may 15 2014 22 57 . portland maine the maine mall may 17 2014 22 58 . boise idaho boise towne square may 17 2014 22 59 . cherry hill new jersey cherry hill mall may 20 2014 22 60 . paramus new jersey garden state plaza may 22 2014 1 61 . aventura florida aventura mall may 29 2014 1 62 . atlanta georgia perimeter mall may 31 2014 1 63 . garden city new york roosevelt field june 21 2014 1 64 . the woodlands texas the woodlands mall june 26 2014 1 65 . durham north carolina streets at southpoint august 21 2014 66 . charlotte north carolina south park mall october 18 2014 23 67 . friendswood texas baybrook mall november 6 2014 1 68 . chandler arizona chandler fashion center november 14 2014 1 24 69 . metairie louisiana lakeside shopping center november 14 2014 25 70 . toronto ontario toronto eaton centre november 20 2014 26 71 . helsinki finland aleksanterinkatu november 24 2014 27 72 . sarasota florida the mall at university town center june 11 2015 28 73 . wayne new jersey willowbrook mall june 23 2015 29 74 . columbus ohio easton town center august 20 2015 flagship store locations edit number city state province location opened 1 . new york city new york fifth avenue october 26 2015 30 2 . sydney new south wales westfield sydney pitt street mall november 12 2015 30 microsoft store online edit microsoft store online is the online store of microsoft and is the successor of windows marketplace which was also owned and operated by the company . it sells microsoft software and hardware as well as microsoft signature pcs and select third party software and hobbyist products . microsoft signature pcs which are made by various manufacturers including microsoft with its surface line are desktops laptops and tablets that run windows without demos trialware or other manufacturer installed programs ; they are equivalent to google s nexus and google play edition devices . besides the online storefront items from the store can be ordered by phone . the website is in 228 markets worldwide including australia canada the european union france germany india italy japan south korea the netherlands spain united kingdom and united states . the stores in europe are able to accept orders from and ship to other european countries as well . the microsoft store offers immediate software download options of some microsoft software products in most which regions . on february 12 2012 it was reported that microsoft s india online store was hacked and usernames and passwords were stolen by a chinese group called evil shadow team . the team has stolen login id s and passwords of users who had used the website for shopping . it was revealed that passwords were not encrypted and were stored in plain text . 31 other formats edit microsoft specialty stores edit in may 2013 microsoft began to launch mall kiosk locations known as microsoft specialty stores expanding upon the surface focused pop up stores established during the launch of windows 8 . they have a smaller product offering with a particular focus on surface and windows phone product lines . 32 best buy windows stores edit on june 13 2013 microsoft announced a partnership with the best buy chain to replace their existing pc departments with the windows store unrelated to the software distribution platform at 600 locations in the united states and canada by september 2013 . the store within a store showcases windows devices and microsoft hardware and software products including the surface office and xbox lines .