Bose is shutting down retail stores across US, Japan, Europe and Australia; but not because its products are not selling

NEW DELHI: The audio brand Bose has confirmed that it will be shutting down its various retail stores over the next few months. As reported by The Verge, Bose has confirmed to the publication that it planning to close its several retail stores in North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia.
The company claims that its audio products are mainly purchase online so it has decided to do away with the retail stores.As a result of this, hundreds of its retail workers will be laid off and will be offered severance and outplacement assistance.
In an email to The Verge, Colette Burke, Bose VP of Global Sales, 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. 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.”
Bose opened its first retail store in 1993 and presently it has stores in various shopping centres across the US. The company is shutting down a total of 119 stores across North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. However, the Bose stores in other parts of the world such as Greater China and the United Arab Emirates, India and others will remain functional.