Sony has announced plans to close 20 US Sony Stores – or two-thirds of its total presence – following a decision to sell off the Vaio PC brand and a new higher-end focus in its TV division.

Will affect 1000 employees 
Apple is enjoying huge success with its retail stores throughout the US and globally, but the same cannot be said for Sony. Sony has been forced to close 20 stores, including stores in California, New York, and Florida. That leaves only 11 Sony Stores.

- "While these moves were extremely tough, they were absolutely necessary to position us in the best possible place for future growth," said Mike Fasulo, COO of Sony Electronics.


Sony recently decided to sell off its Vaio PC business and to focus on high-end TVs, leaving the low-end for others to chase. Sony intends to cut 5000 jobs globally, and 1000 of those jobs will be found in the Sony Stores. Sony recently closed six stores, not included in this round.

The list of Sony Stores that will close by year’s end is available  here. Sony expects a full-year loss of 110 billion yen ($1.1 billion) this fiscal year.