Microsoft is to close all but four of retail locations, The Verge reported Friday, including the one in London that is just steps away from the city’s flagship Apple Store. The sites that remain will be turned into experience centers, but will not sell any products.
Those locations are New York City (Fifth Ave), London (Oxford Circus), Sydney (Westfield Sydney), and the Redmond campus location. The London store only just opened about a year ago. All other Microsoft Store locations across the United States and globally will be closing, and the company will concentrate on digital retail moving forward. Microsoft says Microsoft.com and the Xbox and Windows storefronts reach “up to 1.2 billion monthly customers in 190 markets.” The company tells The Verge that no layoffs will result from today’s decision. “Our commitment to growing and developing careers from this diverse talent pool is stronger than ever,” Microsoft Store VP David Porter said in a LinkedIn post on the move.
Check It Out: Microsoft to Permanently Close Retail Locations
It’s been fun watching the store in Valley Fair Mall, San Jose, 50 feet away from the Apple Store there. The mall re-opens this weekend, so this announcement is just in time to (not) see the customers return. Just as well… in the next few months the Valley Fair mall should finish its expansion, and Apple moves into a new Flagship-sized store in the new part. Microsoft can’t stare at them anymore.
The one here in San Diego was rarely busy. A year or so ago they moved from the ground level to the 2nd which presumably has cheaper rent.