Microsoft delivers strong earnings.
About a year after announcing plans to close all of its stores, Microsoft is dipping its toes back into physical retail by soon returning to retail sales at its flagship New York City location, according to audio of an internal meeting reviewed by Insider.
Gabe Cardona, the senior hub manager for the New York Microsoft Experience Center, in a June 4 meeting told employees Microsoft plans to restart retail sales at the location beginning July 1. Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment to Insider on Tuesday morning, but confirmed the news in a statement to the Verge in a story published later in the day.
Microsoft last June announced plans to permanently close all of its retail stores. At the time, it said that what had been the flagship store locations in New York City, Sydney, and London would become “Microsoft Experience Centers” to show off products and services to customers – but not sell them. Instead, visitors would be directed to make their purchases from Microsoft’s online store. According to comments during the meeting, however, customers would try to purchase
