Sony Closing Two-Thirds of U.S. Sony Stores

[Andy Chalk]

Sony Closing Two-Thirds of U.S. Sony Stores

Sony has announced that 20 of its 31 Sony Stores in the U.S. will be closed down as part of its ongoing restructuring effort.

The PlayStation 4 is doing pretty well for itself but it's a rough time for Sony in the big picture. The company announced earlier this month [http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/06/us-sony-results-idUSBREA150AK20140206] that it would spin off its television operations and sell the Vaio PC division as part of its effort to return to profitability, eliminating 5000 jobs and (hopefully) saving the company a little under $1 billion in annual fixed costs.

Today the axe fell again, this time on Sony Stores in the U.S., 20 of which will be closed "in an effort to further streamline costs and continue focus on existing partner relations." That figure represents two-thirds of the Sony Stores in the country.

"While these moves were extremely tough, they were absolutely necessary to position us in the best possible place for future growth," Sony Electronics President and COO Mike Fasulo said in a statement. "I am entirely confident in our ability to turn the business around, in achieving our preferred future, and continue building on our flawless commitment to customer loyalty through the complete entertainment experience only Sony can offer."

The following stores are scheduled for closure:


Tysons, VA
University Village, WA
Galleria Dallas, TX
Forum Shops, NV
Pentagon, VA
Boca Raton, FL
Menlo Park, NJ
Las Americas, CA
Camarillo, CA
Aurora, IL
Gilroy, CA
Wrentham, MA
Pleasant Prairie, WI
San Marcos, TX
Cherry Creek, CO
Dolphin, FL
Century City, CA
Valley Fair, CA
Comcast, PA
Central Valley, N.Y. (Woodbury Common Outlets)


Sony Electronics also said it will cut roughly 1000 employees by the end of 2014, reducing its workforce by one-third.

Source: Sony [http://www.sony.com/SCA/company-news/press-releases/sony-electronics/2014/sony-us-electronics-announces-organization-restruc.shtml]


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[Riff Moonraker]

I am waiting to see how many people in the threads predicting doom and gloom for the Xbox One actually come here and acknowledge that maybe they should be more concerned with whats going on in Sony's own house first. This is bad news, no matter how you try to spin it.

 

[Avaholic03]

So what? Pretty much every store with an electronics department already sells Sony products. Why did they feel the need for their own store chain? Because MS and Apple were doing it?

 

[Arawn]

Yikes. It's bad news to hear people are going to be fired. Even worse to those that found this out via a web site rather than their place of employment. In any a case it sucks both ways. I had to take my broken PS3 to a Sony store not to long ago to get it sent for repairs. I wonder how their process will work with fewer stores. Will they have to mail via FedEx or UPS?

 

[Vivi22]

I am waiting to see how many people in the threads predicting doom and gloom for the Xbox One actually come here and acknowledge that maybe they should be more concerned with whats going on in Sony's own house first. This is bad news, no matter how you try to spin it.

Considering the financial troubles Sony has been having and the fact that there's absolutely no need for them to operate their own retail outlets when every electronics department under the sun carries their stuff anyway, them cutting a billion dollars in fixed costs annually is actually a really good thing for them.

 

[omega 616]

Funny, I thought it was MS who was thinking of axing all it's customer facing products.

Sucks that so many people getting made redundant, such a sucky thing to happen. Waking up without a care in the world, then you get a phone call or open a letter and you get leveled, your life just falls away around you.

 

[Alpha Maeko]

"Congratulations! You're fired. Feel proud that your sacrifice makes Sony stronger."

Yeah, I suppose having your own store is a waste of time when there are plenty of outlets out there that stock all your stuff, anyway.

 

[Raggedstar]

Happening in Canada too. I live in near Toronto and our local Sony Store closed around late summer/early fall last year. At first I thought it was strange because the PS4 was just on the horizon, but I guess it's larger than I thought. I know in that mall there's one other technology store, a Target (though wasn't open at the time of closing), and a Gamestop. Not quite a clean overlap for representation of Sony products, but euhh, it's a small mall.

 

[fix-the-spade]

This is happening in the UK as well, all the Sony stores I knew about last year are gone now, one has been replaced by a bra shop, which has improved the posters.

It makes no sense for Sony to have retail stores at all, they don't engender anything like the fanatical devotion Apple do and all the other electronic stores in the world are already full of Sony stuff at twenty percent less than the Sony store is allowed to sell at.

Sony need to keep chopping all that dead wood out, the company that owns Playstation, Walkman and Sony Mobile shouldn't be in financial trouble, yet somehow they managed it. It's impressive in a darkly funny sort of way.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Sucks for those employed. I do wish companies would stop doing things that cannibalized themselves.

 

[Fox12]

Lord have mercy!

Sony is shutting down 75% of its stores, and laying off 1/3 of its workforce!

Nintendo is unable to maintain profitability, and is losing stock and market prices because no one wants their console!

Microsoft has sold its soul to the great DRM devil, and its fans have abandoned it in mass!

The second seal is broken, and Raganarok is upon us! Come, brethren, we must gather beneath the great ash Yggdrasil while the earth is consumed by fire, and by water! From this dying tree will arise a new, more glorious PC master race, which will rebuild and purify the earth under the leadership of the great prophet!

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/370/670/445.png

 

[Roxas1359]

Well this sucks for those employed, and I hope they can find more work. That being said, I never understood why Sony had these stores in the first place seeing as other major retailers carry all these Sony products anyway. I feel the same way when it comes to Apple stores and Micrisoft stores as well, but I will give MS and Sony stores credit for one thing: you don't need an appointment to go to the store at least. >.> *glares at Apple*
Now as long as you're restructuring Sony, perhaps you should cut a little dead weight you seem to be carrying. *cough*television sector*cough*

 

[FalloutJack]

I am waiting to see how many people in the threads predicting doom and gloom for the Xbox One actually come here and acknowledge that maybe they should be more concerned with whats going on in Sony's own house first. This is bad news, no matter how you try to spin it.

Actually, I've got a bit of spin: Think how bad it would be if the PS4 was received as poorly as the X-Bone. This has a safety net installed while they fix the house with new money.

 

[Padwolf]

Well this is quite sad. I hope that those who were fired find work soon and are not hit too hard by it It's been happening here in the UK too. It's a shame.

 

[J Tyran]

I am waiting to see how many people in the threads predicting doom and gloom for the Xbox One actually come here and acknowledge that maybe they should be more concerned with whats going on in Sony's own house first. This is bad news, no matter how you try to spin it.

To be honest and not attempting to spin anything I don't think this news is all that bad (well apart from the sacked staff), this is only based on my personal opinion that the Sony stores are unnecessary in the first place though. Other companies like Apple with their fanatical following do ok with their own retail chain but for Sony, just another electronics manufacturer amongst all the others it doesn't really give any advantage apart from not having to compete with other makers within a store. The prices are often worse than you can find elsewhere (in the UK stores at least) as well so that also loses them custom when their higher priced products are overpriced compared to the other retailers, if Sony simplify their product range and up their game so the products are more attractive in the first place (Sony phones and tablets are already superb) they will do just as well with other retailers both brick and mortar and online.

Running their own chain that sells their products for a higher price than elsewhere is just a whole heap of costs with little revenue in return, if they really want their own shelf space to sell goods from the best thing they could do is follow Samsungs example by having their own little "Sony Experience" store fronts in existing department stores. It costs nowhere near as much and that way they can have all the Sony products lined up on the shelves next to each other, they could have their own staff for customer service and sales.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

Ok.

I've lived in Bronx, NY and Westchester New York for most of my life. I lived in Montreal for the early 2000's. And I've moved to Brooklyn.

I have Never heard of a Sony store until literally a minute and fifteen seconds ago.

Also, I shop at this place [Central Valley, N.Y. (Woodbury Common Outlets)] at least twice a year. Admittedly, I'm only looking for clothes when I go there, but... huh. Wow.

I am sorry for everyone losing their jobs, though.

 

[cryogeist]

Lord have mercy!

Sony is shutting down 75% of its stores, and laying off 1/3 of its workforce!

Nintendo is unable to maintain profitability, and is losing stock and market prices because no one wants their console!

Microsoft has sold its soul to the great DRM devil, and its fans have abandoned it in mass!

The second seal is broken, and Raganarok is upon us! Come, brethren, we must gather beneath the great ash Yggdrasil while the earth is consumed by fire, and by water! From this dying tree will arise a new, more glorious PC master race, which will rebuild and purify the earth under the leadership of the great prophet!

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/370/670/445.png

I don't know... with the way Steam has been going with Early Access and the like, it might not be going in a good direction either
Anyway,
as said before sucks for those that were employed in these stores, but they were kind of redundant

 

[O maestre]

I am waiting to see how many people in the threads predicting doom and gloom for the Xbox One actually come here and acknowledge that maybe they should be more concerned with whats going on in Sony's own house first. This is bad news, no matter how you try to spin it.

People hate Microsoft so much that they are willing to distort reality to make this see as something positive, just look at the comments quoting you. People excusing laying off a third of their workforce because "who needs a store anyway?" lol


Sony is losing on many fronts, their only successes have been the PS4, Sony music and to a lesser extent their xperia series.

People forget that when M$ fails, they have a comfy multi billion dollar cushion to land on, Sony not so much. They have already been beaten from making VAIO computers, I imagine that their Xperia series might not survive either, Their TV's are getting butchered by Samsung and LG. The company has tried to and failed to compete, so downsizing and focusing their efforts seems like the best course of action.

To be honest and not attempting to spin anything I don't think this news is all that bad (well apart from the sacked staff), this is only based on my personal opinion that the Sony stores are unnecessary in the first place though. Other companies like Apple with their fanatical following do ok with their own retail chain but for Sony, just another electronics manufacturer amongst all the others it doesn't really give any advantage apart from not having to compete with other makers within a store. The prices are often worse than you can find elsewhere (in the UK stores at least) as well so that also loses them custom when their higher priced products are overpriced compared to the other retailers, if Sony simplify their product range and up their game so the products are more attractive in the first place (Sony phones and tablets are already superb) they will do just as well with other retailers both brick and mortar and online.

This would be true if this was an isolated incident, but as I explained above Sony is losing a lot of ground on many fronts, having to downsize a third of its workforce, selling an entire division and undergoing a partial merger with olympus to sell medical equipment. Along with 4 years of consecutive losses. They are in trouble, but will probably survive in a reduced capacity.

 

[Strazdas]

I am waiting to see how many people in the threads predicting doom and gloom for the Xbox One actually come here and acknowledge that maybe they should be more concerned with whats going on in Sony's own house first. This is bad news, no matter how you try to spin it.

No, its actually good news. Sony has been hemmoragging losses in a lot of divisions for quite some time. they finally decided to cut those loose and stop having these losses. which means that the profitable divisions will take larger part of the company and turn it into profit rather than a loss. Sony was especially making huge loses on its TV and computer hardware divisions. They sold the latter and are downsizing the former. This is good news, for sony that is. Of course it is not good for people that get fired, but it has nothing to do with Xbox or console wars.

So what? Pretty much every store with an electronics department already sells Sony products. Why did they feel the need for their own store chain? Because MS and Apple were doing it?

basically yes. they thought Sony was a name that could carry a store, they were wrong.

Yikes. It's bad news to hear people are going to be fired. Even worse to those that found this out via a web site rather than their place of employment. In any a case it sucks both ways. I had to take my broken PS3 to a Sony store not to long ago to get it sent for repairs. I wonder how their process will work with fewer stores. Will they have to mail via FedEx or UPS?

Not sure how it will work in US, but here in europe they either have to come pick them up or pay for the mail costs. Thats of course if its a warranty thing, if its just repairs you pay for getting the stuff to and from the store.

Sony need to keep chopping all that dead wood out, the company that owns Playstation, Walkman and Sony Mobile shouldn't be in financial trouble, yet somehow they managed it. It's impressive in a darkly funny sort of way.

I agree but really those examples? Yes playstation is very profitable but walkman and sony mobile? i dont remember seeing anything done by them in like last 5 years. Sony entertainment would be a much better example as their movie division is actually one of the few doing good. Or how about using Sony Music as a good profitable example (altrough the music industry is messed up at its root so i dont like it anyway)

Sucks for those employed. I do wish companies would stop doing things that cannibalized themselves.

well, for cases like Sony its more like to close 20 stores now or all 31 in a year type of deal. You dont keep around the business that make a loss. If you cant compete you shut it down and either make a better product or go work for somone that does. It sucks for the employees, but it would such even more if taxpayers would have to keep them afloat or they went full bancrupcy because of this.

Lord have mercy!

No, its just that the market has changed so far that consoles arent actually the business they once were. you do know consoles are the least profitable of all gaming platforms right?
Shit, i just clicked on the image. you are one of us, sorry to attack you brother!

People excusing laying off a third of their workforce because "who needs a store anyway?" lol

more like who needs a business (in this case a store) that is loosing money.