Microsoft is closing physical retail stores
By LINDA DENG in Seattle | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2020-06-26 23:29
Microsoft announced Friday that it is closing nearly all its physical stores globally as part of a "strategic change in its retail operations".
The company also said it would "reimagine" the physical spaces at its four high-profile Microsoft Experience Centers in New York City, London, Sydney, Australia, and at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
The Facebook page of Microsoft Store has 2,296,863 fans as of Friday. Many people said in their posts they have enjoyed visiting the stores and are saddened by the news.
"Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location," said Microsoft Corporate vice-president David Porter in a LinkedIn post Friday. "We are grateful to our Microsoft Store customers and we look forward to continuing to serve them online and with our retail sales team at Microsoft corporate locations."
Like other retailers, the company closed all its physical stores in late March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and moved retail team members to remote work.
Microsoft opened its first physical store in Scottsdale, Arizona, in October 2009. The company didn't disclose how much revenue it was generating from the stores but said the closures would result in a pretax charge of about $450 million, or 5 cents per share, taken in the current quarter ending June 30. The company didn't say if the move would result in layoffs.
