Bose is to close all of it’s retail shops in the United States, Europe, Japan & Australia.
Altogether 119 stores will be closed.
The first Bose store opened in 1993 and the stores are used to sell a variety of Bose music systems to customers directly. They offer tailored demo rooms where customers could sit and listen and provide personal, private demonstrations for Wave music systems and Lifestyle home theater systems. As smartphones changed the industry, the company’s focus turned to mobile, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi solutions. Today, Bose noise-cancelling headphones, truly wireless sport earbuds, portable speakers, and smart speakers.
“Originally, our retail stores gave people a way to experience, test, and talk to us about multi-component, CD and DVD-based home entertainment systems.
At the time, it was a radical idea, but we focused on what our customers needed, and where they needed it — and we’re doing the same thing now.”
In other parts of the world, Bose stores will remain open, including approximately 130 stores located in Greater China and the United Arab Emirates; and additional stores in India, Southeast Asia, and South Korea.
Bose has stated that this is as a direct consequence of the shift by consumers to purchasing online - Bose products are still to be carried at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Apple stores, other third-party retailers, and on the company’s own website.