Sony will be pulling its store from a very busy Seattle mall, leaving the fertile shopping ground to its biggest tech rivals Microsoft and Apple.
Sony opened the store in University Village eight years ago, marketing it as a lifestyle experience, where consumers could come and interact with the company’s brands. Microsoft and Apple have neighboring stores at the North Seattle mall that serve a very similar purpose.
In all, Sony said 20 of its 31 stores would be shuttered and that 1,000 employees would be laid off. A list of the store closures was published by The Consumerist. We independently reached out to Sony for confirmation, but did not hear back immediately.
Despite Sony’s PlayStation 4 outpacing sales of the Xbox One in the current console wars, the electronics maker has felt pressure to cut back in other parts of its business. Sony recently unveiled a restructuring plan, which included spinning off the company’s TV operations and putting its PC division up for sale.