MICROSOFT RETURNING TO WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY MALL IN BETHESDA?

Is Microsoft opening a new store at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda? There is good reason to believe so. Montgomery County has issued a permit for interior alterations at the mall, and names Microsoft in the space description.

There is a pair of other Microsoft Store trends at the moment into which such a development would fit perfectly. One is the opening of several Microsoft retail stores in malls that hosted a Microsoft pop-up store during the 2012 Christmas shopping season. Westfield Montgomery Mall was among the retail centers that did.

Second, Microsoft is now opening a new type of store in the United States, called Microsoft Specialty Stores. Two such stores are opening in The Mall in Columbia, and Towson Town Center. These stores feature what the company calls a "curated" selection of Microsoft products. One can expect the company's hottest products to be among those curated, including the newest Surface tablet and Xbox One.

Should that be the type of store opening here, don't expect the full Microsoft Store experience such as one finds at Tysons Corner, pictured in the above photo from my blog 18 months ago. Stay tuned!