Recently, multiple bloggers exposed on social media that Microsoft will close all offline authorized stores and only leave online sales channels. Among them, a user who introduced himself as the "Microsoft Zhengzhou David City Store Manager" claimed that this is the reason why Microsoft's recent new products (Surface Pro 11 and Laptop 7) have not been able to purchase display machine quotas for dealers nationwide. However, Microsoft's official after-sales repair points nationwide are still operating normally, and channel providers for enterprise versions are also operating normally. Analysis suggests that this may be related to the unsatisfactory domestic sales situation of Microsoft Surface.
In response to this, on July 1, a Microsoft spokesman responded to the surging news and said: "Microsoft has constantly evaluated its retail strategy to meet the changing needs of our customers. Microsoft has decided to integrate channels in the Chinese Mainland market. Customers can still access Microsoft's comprehensive consumer products and services through retail partners and Microsoft.com."
On that day, a reporter from The Paper contacted multiple Microsoft authorized specialty stores located in Shanghai and Beijing. Some stores had closed in the past few days, while others did not receive any notice of closure and were still operating normally. However, there were indeed no new Microsoft products such as Surface Pro 11 and Laptop 7 in the stores. A shop owner told a reporter from Pengpai News that authorized stores only responsible for computer products will indeed close, while larger and more diverse stores can "transform" into Xbox retail experience stores to renew contracts with Microsoft. Multiple stores have also confirmed that the warranty service for purchased products will not be affected by store closures.
At present, in the "Find Store" on the official website of Microsoft's official mall, there are 51 stores in Chinese Mainland, but most of them are Xbox experience stores and Shundian Microsoft experience area. Only seven stores are called "Microsoft authorized stores". Taking Shanghai as an example, other map software still shows that there are five or more Microsoft authorized specialty stores in Shanghai; On Microsoft's official website, only three stores are displayed in Shanghai, and only one of them is a Microsoft authorized store located in Jiading District, while the other two belong to the retail partner Shundian's dedicated area.
It is worth noting that Microsoft announced the closure of its global direct stores four years ago. In June 2020, Microsoft announced the permanent closure of nearly a hundred Microsoft Store physical retail stores worldwide. Microsoft stated that as its product portfolio has developed into digital products including Microsoft 365, gaming, and entertainment, the company's hardware and software sales continue to shift online. At that time, Microsoft had about 460 offline stores in the Chinese market, all of which were authorized stores rather than official direct operated stores, so they were not affected.
In April of this year, Microsoft's performance for the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, showed a year-on-year increase of 17% in revenue in the personal computing sector, including gaming, to $15.6 billion. Among them, Xbox content and service revenue increased by 62% year-on-year, with Microsoft attributing 61% to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October last year, while device revenue decreased by 17% year-on-year.
In mid May this year, it was revealed that Microsoft China plans to relocate hundreds of employees engaged in AI related businesses overseas. Microsoft responded to The Paper that a small portion of its employees have been given the opportunity to choose international job rotation. Employees can choose to accept job rotation or continue working in their current positions. Microsoft has always had a mechanism to provide internal job rotation opportunities for employees in the process of operating and managing global business.