Bose Retail Will Be Wiped Out From North America, Europe, Japan, & Australia

As more people turn their backs on brick-and-mortar stores and start religiously shopping online, Bose is one of many in the retail business to face plunging sales in their physical stores. This results to the audio equipment brand’s decision to close down all of its stores in the US, Japan, Europe, and Australia; and this isn’t the best news for employees, either.

From Bose’s first physical retail store in 1993 to its presence in multiple shopping centers and malls in the US, the brand primarily focused on using these stores as venues for the showcase of their product lineup. Apart from their widely recognized noise-canceling headphones, smart speakers, and ‘Wearables’ that function as audio sunglasses,  the physical retail stores are also used by consumers to test the music systems and to receive personal demonstrations of the products prior to purchase.

As the privately-held Framingham, Massachusetts-based company keeps disclosed its total number of workers, an approximate figure cannot be drawn to determine the impact of the pull-out on Bose employees.

Bose Vice President of Global Sales Colette Burke said, “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.” He added, “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.”

A spokesperson from the brand announced that a total of 119 stores will be pulled out in the following months in the effectuation of the decision. On an email sent to The Verge, Bose claimed, “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.”

Outplacement assistance and severance will still be offered to the unpublished number of affected Bose employees. Moreover, Amazon, Best Buy, Apple stores, Target, other third-party retailers, and Bose’s own website will carry on with the sale of Bose products online.