E-commerce and the process of buying products online or offline grown tremendously over the past couple of years. This has led many brands to focus more on own their websites or partner with major e-retail sites to sell online. Now, Bose is also following the same route as the company has issued a statement that it is closing down all of its retail stores in the US, Australia, Japan, and Europe.
The main reason for this as the company stated was due to the fact that most of its speakers, headphones and other audiophilic products were being bought online. This makes the point of physical stores rather obsolete and cumbersome. Notably, the first Bose physical retails store opened back in 1993 and has numerous locations in both shopping centers and malls across the globe.
Editor’s pick: OPPO F15 launched with 6.4-inch display, in-screen fingerprint reader, VOOC 3.0 and 48MP quad cameras for Rs. 19,990 (~$282)
According to Bose, a total of 119 stores will be shut down over the course of the next few months. However, approximately 130 physical stores will still remain open in various other countries like China, United Arab Emirates, South Korea and a few Southeast Asian regions like India. The company is even offering “outplacement assistance and severance to employees” that will lose their jobs when such physical stores close.
Currently, Bose sells its entire lineup online through Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Apple Stores and various other third party retailers. This includes its signature noise cancelling headphones and its renowned home audio systems to even portable Bluetooth speakers. The company with its stores aimed to deliver a way for customers to experience its products without purchasing first, but the booming growth of e-commerce has since made it outdated.
UP NEXT: TSMC is being pressured to make chips in the US because of security concerns
(Source)
