Microsoft Closing All But Four Retail Stores

Microsoft has announced that the company will be closing all of its retail stores, with locations in Sydney, New York, London, and Redmond being redesigned as Microsoft Experience Centers.

Microsoft has said that their retail members “will continue to serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities and remotely providing sales, training, and support.” They also have said that no lay-offs will occur as a result of this news.

The retail stores closed in March when the coronavirus pandemic hit, and they have yet to re-open. During the time since, Microsoft has shifted its focus to its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com, Xbox, and Windows 10.

“We deliberately built teams with unique backgrounds and skills that could serve customers from anywhere. The evolution of our workforce ensured we could continue to serve customers of all sizes when they needed us most, working remotely these last months,” Microsoft Corporate Vice Pesident David Porter said in a statement. “Speaking over 120 languages, their diversity reflects the many communities we serve. Our commitment to growing and developing careers from this talent pool is stronger than ever.”

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The company has made it clear in the past that they are dedicated to helping their employees in this changed world after the pandemic. Many team members transitioned to remote work and the company has maintained full pay through the pandemic.

These closures come just months before the planned release of Microsoft’s newest console, Xbox Series X, but we doubt that these closures will affect the console’s launch or success. An Xbox event is scheduled for next month with gameplay of Halo Infinite planned to be shown. Monthly Xbox digital events are planned as excitement for the console builds up. You can be sure we will cover what is announced then.

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