Microsoft Shuts Down Network of Physical Stores in China

Last month, Microsoft said it asked 700–800 employees to move out of China and reduced its engineering presence in the country.

A cleaner walks past a Microsoft sign outside a Microsoft office building in Beijing, on July 31, 2014. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

Microsoft is closing authorized physical stores in mainland China as part of its strategic change to restructure its retail channels in the world’s second-largest economy.

“Microsoft continually assesses its retail strategy to meet the evolving needs of our valued customers, and we’ve made the decision to focus our channel approach in mainland China,” the company said in a statement.