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Microsoft’s first O.C. store opens Thursday — will you be there?

October 27th, 2009, 11:59 am by

Microsoft plans to open second-ever store in Mission Viejo.Microsoft is taking a stab at selling its own software and toys directly to consumers. In a store. In Mission Viejo.

This will be the company’s second store nationwide. The first opened last week in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Our Mission Viejo reporter Niyaz Pirani is covering Microsoft’s attempt at brick-and-mortar retail. It’ll be the first to go head-to-head with an Apple store at The Shops at Mission Viejo. Here are some of Niyaz’s past stories.

Niyaz plans to camp out with everyone Wednesday night and blog about his experience right here.

Will the new Mission Viejo local store be as popular as the Arizona one? According to one report, “hundreds of people who waited as long as 12 hours,” showed up for the opening last week. Those folks appeared to be eying the goodie bags and free entertainment  a la pop singer Ashley Tisdale. Some words to describe the new store: “Really cool,” “about time,” “really cool” again, and “one last shot” for Microsoft.

Here are lots of photos of the new Arizona store from Destructoid.com.

As for the new one in Mission Viejo? Who out there will be going on day one? Let us know because we want to interview you! Leave a comment below or e-mail thegadgetress@ocregister.com.

Posted in: news • • • • | 16 Comments »

Boost Mobile opening 50 stores, none in O.C. — whatup?

May 8th, 2009, 11:39 am by

Boost MobileIrvine-based Boost Mobile said it plans to open 50 stores this year.

The company has signed leases for 11 stores at strip shopping centers in New York, Boston, Orlando, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco, Fresno and Van Nuys, said John Votava, spokesman for Boost Mobile. Last year, the company opened its first three stores in Huntington Park — the closest location to O.C., Houston and Miami.

Why doesn’t the company’s expansion plans include a store in Orange County where it’s headquartered?

Votava said Boost Mobile has “pretty good visibility” already in Orange County, where its products are sold at Walmart, Target and Radio Shack. But he added that an Orange County Boost Mobile store may be a possiblity in the future.

Right now, the company’s plans are to expose the brand elsewhere in the country. It holds the grand opening for the first of 50 stores today in Philadelphia. A Boost Mobile store offers more acessories and handset availability compared to the Boost Mobile selection offered at a Walmart or Target, Votava said.

Also on Jan. 22, Boost Mobile introduced a new prepaid plan offering unlimited anytime calling, text messaging, wireless Web and walkie-talkie services with a national calling area for $50 a month. “As economic woes continue and consumers begin to receive sobering credit card bills from the holiday shopping season, Boost Mobile is redefining value for wireless consumers,” according to a company press release.

More from OC Retail blog:

More on cell-phones:.


Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services 

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • | 2 Comments »

40% discounts coming to Circuit City; TVs excluded

January 29th, 2009, 2:35 pm by

When Circuit City decided to file for bankruptcy, the tech sites scoffed at its closeout sales — or lack thereof. As with many retailers “going out of business,” they tend to raise prices as the countdown begins.

But now, as noted by SoCalTech.com, one of the four liquidators for Circuit City is cutting prices deeper. Great American Group, based in Woodland Hills, said in a statement that it will provide “deeper discounts” of 40 percent on certain items in the store. Big TVs, however, will only be 20 percent. About 25 percent of Circuit City’s $1.7 billion of inventory has been sold. 

Of course, discounts should get greater anyway as the closing date nears.

Which brings us to… if you are looking for the best deal on tech products, please shop around. As Consumer Reports recently pointed out, going-out-of-business prices are sometimes higher than regular sale prices. Because it filed bankruptcy, Circuit City no longer has to honor prices from its Sunday ad. That led Consumer Reports to discover that a 50-inch Panasonic plasma TV was discounted $200 and selling for $1,800. But in the ad for the same week, the same TV was supposed to be $1,500. Additionally, Consumer Reports found the same model online for $1,365 with free shipping.

Lots of comparison shopping being done online by tech sites, like HD Guru. Check out the links below to see where the deals really are.

More on Circuit City liquidation sales:

For more on store closures and liquidation sales, please check the OC Register’s Retail Blog, at ocregister.com/retail.

More on deals from Gadgetress:

Posted in: news • Video & TV • • • • • | 12 Comments »

Behind the scenes at Buy.com

May 6th, 2008, 5:27 am by

Buy.com is based in Aliso Viejo, Calif.On a recent visit to OC’s own Buy.com, I noticed that the Aliso Viejo online store still has dot-com flair.

Free ice cream, sodas and Naked Juice. Catered lunches every day! I’m told that scooters, Razors and even Segways are regularly used by employees to move from one cubicle to another — although not on the day I got a tour.

Neel Grover, Buy.com’s CEOLittle pots of fresh grass decorate the conference room tables and the lobby. Someone comes in weekly to trim grass with scissors. While the game room got cleared out for more customer service staff, a Ms. Pac-man arcade game found a new home in the cafeteria.

Neel Grover, its chief executive since May 2006, is young, friendly and determined. Dressed in dark jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, he’s far from the suited exec at most companies in the county. That’s him on the right, although that’s not his motorcycle. Buy.com’s founder Scott Blum is a collector.

The company plans to report its sixth consecutive profitable quarter soon. Not bad when you’re selling everything at a discount (except for prices set by the manufacturer).

Buy.com brings in fresh grass weekly. Click image to see slideshow of Buy.com.“It’s not just me, by any means,” Grover tells me. “I have a great team. Most of the employees have been here for 10 years.”

That means the bulk of its 125 employees were there during the dot-com mania days, when it was a publicly traded company, employed more than 300 people and had free-shipping deals so frequently, I’d time purchases to take advantage of the deal. But also back then, the company was losing money and many critics thought Buy.com was going bye bye.

Buy.com, obviously, is still around. Grover said listening to the customer has helped boost sales. And now, he said, “We make money on every product we sell — we make a little less money than our competitors.”

“We’re a very mature young company. There’s still a long way to go,” Grover concedes. And yes, he said, answering my next question before I could ask it. “We think we’ll catch them (Amazon).”

Jebb Harris, a Register photographer, took photos of our tour and offers a picturesque view of life at today’s Buy.com. Click here to check them out!

Read a longer story after the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »

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