Microsoft closes all of their retail stores

Photo: The Verge

Washington DC, United States — Microsoft has decided to permanently close down all of their retail stores.

On June 26, Microsoft disclosed that they will be closing down 83 retail stores of Microsoft and has decided to carry out the businesses through online instead.

However, Microsoft announced that they have decided to use the retail stores in London, Washington, New York City and Sydney as “Customer Experience centers.” They will be plainly showcasing Microsoft’s technology such as Surface PCs, Xbox, “Minecraft,” Windows and Office in these centers although they won’t be necessarily selling anything.

Microsoft is one of the biggest tech giants in the world which reaches estimatedly 1.2 billion people per month.

“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.

Microsoft mentioned that closing down all the stores will cost a pre-tax charge of about $450 million in taxes.

The first retail outlet of Microsoft was opened a decade ago on October 22 of 2009.