Microsoft opened a new store at University Village in Seattle this morning — the 12th in its fledgling retail chain and the first inside the Seattle city limits, directly across a small parking lot from the shopping center’s longtime Apple Store.
Hundreds of people waited in line, some of them overnight, hoping for free tickets to concerts for weekend concerts by The Black Keys and OneRepublic, part of the opening festivities.
After the presentation of more than $1 million $2 million in donations to local organizations, and brief remarks from Mayor Mike McGinn and Microsoft executive Rich Kaplan, the crowd counted down from seven — Microsoft’s current favorite number, Kaplan explained — and filed into the store as a raucous group of employees gave them high-fives.
Microsoft plans to open up to 75 additional stores over the next two or three years.
[Update: Microsoft gave $250,000 to Washington STEM, $150,000 to Treehouse and $1.875 million to YMCA of Greater Seattle, based on voting on its Facebook page.]
Previously: Microsoft’s Seattle store: Wait, you’re not in line for a PC?
