Tech giant Microsoft on Friday announced a strategic change to reimagine spaces that serves its customers. The company has decided to shut the retail stores in London, NYC, Sydney, and Redmond campus locations, as per the company’s official release.
Microsoft mentioned that the closing of its store physical locations will result in a pre-tax charge of approximately $450M, or $0.05 per share, to be recorded in the current quarter ending June 30, 2020. The charge includes primarily asset write-offs and impairments.
It further stated that its retail team members will continue to serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities and remotely providing sales, training, and support. Microsoft will continue to invest in its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com, and stores in Xbox and Windows.
New strategy
Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter said in an official statement: “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,”
He added: “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.”
“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,” said Porter.
“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.”
The retail team members will serve consumers, small-business, education, and enterprise customers while building a pipeline of talent with transferable skills, Microsoft noted.
“The Microsoft Store team has long been celebrated at Microsoft and embodies our culture,” said Microsoft Chief People Officer Kathleen Hogan in the official release.
“The team has a proven track record of attracting, motivating, and developing diverse talent. This infusion of talent is invaluable for Microsoft and creates opportunities for thousands of people,” Hogan added.
Focus
The company will continue to invest in digital innovation across software and hardware including Microsoft.com, and stores on Xbox and Windows. New services include 1:1 video chat support, online tutorial videos, and virtual workshops with more digital solutions to come.
“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, maximize our talent for greatest impact, and most importantly help our valued customers achieve more.”