Microsoft (MS) is taking steps to close its offline stores in China. The company plans to consolidate its channels in the mainland China market online in response to changing customer demand.
According to local Chinese social networking services (SNS) and media such as Pengpai News on the 1st, MS will close its official offline stores in China and operate only online channels. Some stores in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing are reportedly already in the process of closing. Currently, the company’s official website states that 51 stores are operating within mainland China.
The company explained, "MS continues to evaluate its retail strategy to meet changing customer needs" and "has decided to consolidate channels in the mainland market." It added, "Customers can continue to access products and services through partners and the MS internet homepage."
Earlier, in June 2020, MS announced the permanent closure of over 100 stores worldwide. This was based on the shift of its product portfolio toward digital products including games and entertainment, moving sales focus online. At that time, MS products were handled in about 460 stores in China, most of which were authorized stores rather than official direct-operated stores, so the impact was limited.
In the first quarter, corresponding to January to March (MS fiscal year 2024 Q3), MS’s computing segment revenue reached $15.6 billion, a 17% increase year-over-year, while Xbox content and services revenue grew by 62%. Computing device sales decreased by 17% compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, in May, MS China sent proposals to hundreds of local employees asking if they were willing to relocate to overseas work locations. It is understood that hundreds of employees from MS’s Azure cloud platform artificial intelligence (AI) team received the proposals. The destinations include the United States, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The company explained that the reason for sending these proposals was to meet the demand for AI engineers arising in various locations.
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