Microsoft to close physical retail stores

World Saturday 27/June/2020 16:50 PM
By: Times News Service
Microsoft to close physical retail stores

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft Corp. on Friday announced a strategic change in its retail operations, including closing Microsoft Store physical locations.

The company said in a statement that Microsoft's retail team members "will continue to serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities and remotely providing sales, training, and support."

It will continue to invest in its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com, and stores in Xbox and Windows, "reaching more than 1.2 billion people every month in 190 markets," according to the company.

"Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings," said Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter, adding that their team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location.

"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," he said.

Since the Microsoft Store locations closed in late March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail team has helped small businesses and education customers digitally transform; virtually trained hundreds of thousands of enterprise and education customers on remote work and learning software; and helped customers with support calls, said the statement.

"It is a new day for how Microsoft Store team members will serve all customers," said Porter. "We are energized about the opportunity to innovate in how we engage with all customers."