Microsoft’s holiday “pop-up” store at The Streets of Southpoint mall, which got off to a booming start in October with the launch of the new Surface tablet, is staying open at least into the New Year.

The pop-up location – so-called because it is located in open space at the mall and had been considered temporary rather than based in a leased retail location – could even become permanent, Microsoft said Tuesday. It is located inside the main building of the mall not too far from Apple’s largest RTP location, which is in a separate building.

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) also is keeping a holiday store open in Charlotte and in 32 other locations across the country, at least temporarily.

The move is part of Microsoft’s strategy to expand its retail reach as well as sales for the Surface.

The company also said Tuesday it was expanding production of the Surface and that it had partnered with other retailers to sell the device, which is equipped with hew Windows RT software geared to touch screens and for mobile use.

Staples Inc. and Best Buy Co. will start sales today.

Microsoft has been selling the devices since Oct. 26 only at its more than 60 retail locations in the U.S. and Canada, and online in seven countries. The company has declined to provide sales numbers, leading some analysts to express concern demand might be falling short.

Best Buy said it will offer Surface tablets online from tomorrow, and in some retail outlets starting Dec. 16.

With the added distribution, Microsoft should sell about a million units this quarter, according to Rick Sherlund, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc.

Additional retailers will be added in “a number of countries in the coming months,” Microsoft said in the statement. The company didn’t elaborate or say how much it expanded production.

Microsoft said last month that it will introduce a new model of the device, the Surface Pro, in January. That device features an Intel Corp. i5 processor. Microsoft may release a version with Intel’s Clover Trail chip, which would offer better battery life and performance, “perhaps by March,” Sherlund said.

(Bloomberg contributed to this report.)