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Sony to close its Canadian stores
Sony will close all 14 of its Canadian retail locations, according to a press release issued on The Canadian Press. The company will shut down the stores "over the next six to eight weeks," resulting in 90 layoffs. The company has "been scaling back its business in Canada for the past year and has already shut several locations, including one at the Toronto Eaton Centre." As reported by CBC News, the locations of the soon-to-close stores are as follows: Alberta (3) The Greater Vancouver area (3) The Greater Toronto Area (5) Ottawa (1) Montreal (1) Quebec City (1) Sony announced plans to sell its Vaio PC business and restructure its TV division in February 2014, at which point it planned to lay off 5,000 employees over the next year. It also shut down 20 stores in the United States while restructuring the Sony Electronics division. The Sony-owned developer Sucker Punch laid off some of its staff in August as well. [Image: Sony]
Over 60 percent of Sony Stores to be closed
Sony announced a restructuring of its Sony Electronics division, resulting in the closure of 20 Sony Stores across the United States. The restructuring will affect approximately 1,000 employees "across all sites," which Sony says will amount to a staff reduction of one-third by the end of the calendar year. Just 11 Sony Stores will remain open: five in California, three in New York, two in Florida and one in Texas. The news follows Sony's decision to sell its Vaio PC brand earlier this month, announced among its third quarter fiscal 2013 results in which it saw a net profit of $257 million. At that time, Sony confirmed plans to cut a total of 5,000 jobs worldwide by the end of the 2014 fiscal year, 1,500 in Japan and 3,500 overseas. We added the list of the 20 Sony Store locations that are slated to close after the break.
Refurbished 320GB PS3s for $200 at Sony Store
If you're unwilling to wade into the calm, inviting waters of the Day 1 console launch pool this year, the Sony Store is offering refurbished 320 GB PS3 Slims for $200. Cheap Ass Gamer user timro33 posted about the sale on the site's message boards this afternoon. The deal is for the second-generation PS3, a model that doesn't offer the original build's compatibility with PS2 discs. It does, however, play physical PS1 and PS3 games, a technical feat that its imminent successor will not be capable of. Refurbished PS3s carry the same warranty as their untroubled, factory-fresh counterparts, so you'll have the same luck avoiding the console's pigmented take on the white flag as anyone else should you decide to buy one.
Sony Xperia S heading to Canada on April 17th, exclusive to Sony Stores
Still patiently waiting to find out when Sony's NXT child will hit Canadian shelves? According to the Japanese outfit, residents of the Great White North can finally expect the Xperia S to make a grand entrance on April 17th. The handset is set to be sold exclusively at Sony Stores around the country, but unfortunately, there's no word on how much it'll cost. That said, we do know that the 4.3-inch Gingerbread device will only be compatible with Rogers network, so Xperia lovers on Telus and Bell need not apply. So, not all Canadians can grab the new Sony slab, but at least some of you can before your neighbors down south.
Sony offers sneak peek of new LA store - no fooling (video)
You might see a bunch of fake news on the internet tomorrow, but considering what we've seen of Sony's new LA storefront, we're fairly certain this isn't a prank. That's right, Sony's launching a newly branded retail store in the City of Angels Friday, and from the look of things, it spared no expense. The 4,200-square foot space is the first to ditch the Sony Style moniker for the simpler Sony Store, and while the aesthetics are decidedly minimal, the experience is anything but. As you might expect, the shop offers demos of a slew of devices; it's packed full of everything from VAIOs to ray modelers to 3D Handycams, and it's also rocking a fully loaded home theater setup called "The Cube." Considering the outfit's been looking to up its retail cred, we'd say the new spot has the stuff to do the job, even if that bright white modular look does seem strangely familiar. If you're in the LA area, you can check out the new digs starting tomorrow -- if not, hit up the guided video tour above.
Sony opens idyllic new retail store in Nagoya, Japan
We heard back in January that Sony was looking to reface itself somewhat by introducing a minty fresh retail look that takes a note or two from the Apple and Microsoft shops already in existence, and for those lucky enough to find themselves in Nagoya this weekend, you can check it out in person. March 13th marked the opening of the all new Sony Store Nagoya, and with an ample of amount of glass, white demo stands and black overhead signs, it's certainly one of the more seductive retail shops that we've seen. We'd bother knocking Sony for following instead of leading, but considering just how far the brand has fallen over the past couple of years, we're just stoked to see it putting forth an effort to turn things around.
Apple and Sony stores face off in the New York Times
It seems funny now, but Apple's 2001 decision to open a chain of glossy white boutiques was thought to be pretty risky at the time -- there was no shortage of pundits declaring that the stores would fail spectacularly. (To be fair, no other manufacturer made it work except Sony, kind of. Read on.) Six years and several million iPods later, of course, the stores are a resounding success, and flagship stores are suddenly all the rage. Not every manufacturer's getting so lucky at the mall, however -- Randall Stross of the New York Times compared his experiences at a couple of Sony's 39 retail stores with a visit to an Apple Store, and came away less than impressed. Stross found both Sony outlets virtually deserted except for inattentive salespeople and security personnel, while the Apple Store was packed with shoppers and friendly staff. The Sony stores, according to the "retail consultants" Stross later talked to, are merely "places of stuff," a condition which makes them not "shop-able," while the Apple outlets "extend an emotional connection." Stross concludes that Sony would do better if they had a hit product (duh) but we think the real secret is something a little different (no pun intended) -- Stross quotes a consultant who says all you need to do is "absorb the fumes" at an Apple Store and you "feel like the smartest technophile in the world." Man, that RDF is some pretty powerful stuff, eh?[Via TUAW]
