Not too long ago, if Sony sneezed the TV industry caught a cold. It’s not like that now, as the beleagued company goes about dismantling its direct sales operations and exits its e-commerce site at the end of August.
The online Sony Store, store.sony.com, will close on August 28, a move that follows the closure of nine of its 10 remaining company stores this year, according to US industry media twice.com. The remaining Sony New York showroom, located at the base of the Sony Tower in Midtown Manhattan will also close as, twice.com reports, the real estate developer who purchased the building for $1.1 billion in 2013 is looking to open an ultra-luxury hotel in the space.
Sony has said it plans to replace its online store with an information-only website that showcases products and hands over interested shoppers to authorized retailers.
The move is in line with Sony’s renewed emphasis on its dealer base and ends another chapter in its Sony Style chain. This peaked in 2008 with 59 stores and almost A$1 billion in revenue.
Sony Style has one remaining outlet in Sydney at Chatswood Chase and the future of that is unknown.