As you’ve likely heard by now, Sony is shutting down its online retail store in the US and Canada. Our 25 things to know piece breaks down the nuances of this decision but Sony. Luckily, Sony has an extensive list of authorized dealers that will continue to sell their products.

However, there seems to be one more casualty from all this; Sony retail stores.

While Sony has but slowly ramping down its retail efforts, having closed 20 of the 31 stores it operated, the 11 stores were at least in fairly visible areas. This gave hardcore Sony fans like myself somewhere to flock too. This pilgrimage was especially great for major product launches.

Now, Sony is taking that away from us as well by closing all but one of its retail stores. According to Sony

 All Sony Stores have been closed, except our showroom on 550 Madison Ave. in New York City. We apologize for the inconvenience, and ask you visit one of our Sony Authorized Dealers to purchase our great products. 

That means that unless you live in NYC or plan on visiting Manhattan, that your Sony retail options are limited to the 350 Sony Experience kiosks within Best Buy stores. How unfortunate for a company that has so many unique products that deserve to have their own spotlight and premium experience in order to experience them the right way.

As always, beyond my own personal enjoyment of visiting the stores which will be no more, there are all the great employees who will no longer be employed. Big thanks to every one of them and best of luck.

Discuss:

What do you think about the Sony Experience kiosks in Best Buy stores?