Microsoft says it will close its flagship store in London next month, nearly six years after it first opened as a Microsoft Experience Center. “To better align with its focus on digital growth, Microsoft has decided to exit the lease on the Microsoft Experience Center in London early,” an unnamed Microsoft spokesperson told Windows Central.
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The store originally opened in July 2019, just months before the lockdowns . Microsoft then quickly converted it into an “experience center” alongside the closure of its US stores in 2020.
Microsoft's flagship store in London opened at a time when the company had more than 80 retail locations around the world. The big, bold, British store featured Surface devices on every floor, HoloLens, a large Xbox gaming lounge, and even a real McLaren Senna you could sit in and play Forza.
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It was a great space, in the heart of Oxford Circus and inside a historic building with windows and ceilings from the 1920s. Microsoft spent two years renovating the space, with giant 4K video walls and an opening party that included British celebrities like Peter Crouch.
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After Microsoft's UK store was converted into an experience center, the software giant regularly used the space for business meetings and partner events — turning it into a showcase for Microsoft products and services in recent years. A similar experience center still exists in New York, but it's likely just a matter of time before it suffers a similar fate to the one in London.
Source: theverge
