Consumer tech giant Sony has closed its online store in Europe.
Head to the Sony UK homepage, and there’s no mention of the Sony Store. Go straight to the Sony Store (www.sony.co.uk/store), and you’ll be redirected to the homepage. Even the Sony Outlet Store has ceased to exist, which will be a blow to bargain hunters.
Although some items on its website continue to present a “Buy” button, clicking it will bring up Sony’s retail partners – such as John Lewis and Wex Photographic.
However, Sony hasn’t stopped selling gadgets online in the UK entirely: the Sony Mobile Store in Europe is still up and running. You can pre-order the Xperia Z5 range from there if you wish.
Sony confirmed the news in a tweet (via Xperia Blog) responding to a customer query.
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The corporation has also scaled back its retail presence in the US and Canada, both online and in brick-and-mortar shops. It didn’t say whether it will close any Sony Stores in the UK, or if the move would result in any redundancies.
Sony has had a rough ride of late. This time last year the company warned of a $2 billion full-year loss. However, at the end of April, it said it would bounce back into profit for the first time in three years.
This change in fortunes is due to the boom in demand for its image sensors, which are used in – among others – Apple’s iPhones.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.