Sony has announced that it will be closing eight out of its ten remaining retail stores in the United States, but increase its presence in partner stores, according to TWICE (This Week In Consumer Electronics). The Sony retail stores closing is mixed news, as it will allow Sony to put more resources into their in-store displays at their retail partners.
The company has faced losses this past year, which has caused them to reduce their investment in Olympus, and caused them to shutter all fourteen of their Canadian shops.
Sony will continue to build out store-in-store experience at their partner stores, including BestBuy, P.C. Richard & Son, and others.
But the company’s retail legacy will live on through its approximately 400 Sony Experience store-in-stores. The shops are in more than 300 Best Buy stores and nearly 100 showrooms run by other retail customers including Video & Audio Center, Bjorn’s, Starpower, P.C. Richard & Son, and ListenUp, Fasulo said.
Sony has long had flagship stores in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, attractions that drew large number of customers that had a chance to play with the latest and greatest Sony gear. Unlike the flagships though, the Sony retail shops were seen by many consumer electronics firms as direct competitors, and many were located close enough to electronics stores to take business away from Sony retail partners.
By bolstering the in-store experience, Sony will be able to bring more people into their partners, increase sales, and hopefully reduce the competition that their own locations caused.