Microsoft is Closing its UK Experience Center in London

Microsoft is about to close its UK “Experience Centre” at the heart of London. Windows Central learned that the 21,000-square-foot storefront on Oxford Circus, a popular shopping destination in the UK capital will shut down in February.

“To better align with its focus on digital growth, Microsoft has decided to exit the lease at the Microsoft Experience Centre in London early,” a company spokesperson told Windows Central.  “We regularly review our locations and our workforce to ensure we are aligning to market opportunities and make changes to meet the demands of the business,” the company’s representative added.

Microsoft’s flagship store in London officially opened its doors in July 2019, a couple of months before the global COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, Microsoft announced that it was closing its retail stores for good, but the company still picked up its London store and three other facilities in New York, Sidney, and Redmond to transform them into “Microsoft Experience Centers.”

While Microsoft’s retail presence has shrunk in recent years, the company continues supporting its customers online. Earlier this month, the software giant also announced a new partnership with uBreakiFix by Asurion in the US giving Xbox users access to 700 locations for in-person repairs.

On its website, Microsoft also indicates that it still has over 40 customer engagement centers worldwide. Most of them are “innovation hubs” for professionals, and this is just the new name for the existing Microsoft Technology Centers (MTCs).