Microsoft is closing its specialty stores to focus on flagship stores

In 2012, Microsoft went ahead and opened up 30 holiday pop-up stores as part of its Windows 8 push program. Some of these shops turned into specialty stores.

In 2013, there were 34 specialty stores operating within the US and Canada and today there are over 80 retail stores in the US, Canada and Australia combined.  Ahead of the grand opening of Microsoft’s London flagship store next month, Microsoft has made an announcement addressing the future of their specialty stores.

It was already a known fact that Microsoft had been closing its brick-and-mortar retail outlets

In a recent ‘closure wave’, Microsoft appears to have closed almost all the remaining ‘specialty stores.’ Rumors suggested that Microsoft was closing its specialty stores in order to focus more on its flagship stores. Currently, Microsoft has 2 flagship stores (New York, Sydney) with another one (London) opening next month. Microsoft advertises these flagship stores as not just retail outlets but also as a community center, training facility and a place to hold meetings.

Microsoft addressed the rumors and a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the move. The spokesperson stated,

After careful discussion and evaluation, we’ve made the decision to close our specialty store locations. We are focused on delivering great experiences throughout the customer journey. […]We look forward to continuing to showcase a robust lineup of products and services at our full line and flagship stores, providing the space and support for us to deliver experiences that our customers are excited about.

What do you think? Do you ever visit Microsoft stores? Glad to see the company changing focus? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Murtaza Islam

Murtaza is a Computer Science student who takes immense interest in mobile technology. He believes the future of computing lies in smartphones because ARM architecture will eventually take over. He also loves to tinker with ROMs and kernels keeping up with the latest in smartphones.