Sony Ericsson shuttering London flagship store

If you blinked at some point over the past two years you may have missed it, but somewhere in there, Sony Ericsson had a flagship retail location in the heart of London. Actually, they still do -- it's not closed quite yet -- but it'll be gone by the end of the year, just one casualty of the manufacturer's cost-cutting measures in an effort to turn its weak financial position around. Worried about the prospects for immersing yourself in the Sony Ericsson lifestyle after the new year? Rest easy -- the company says it has no plans to get rid of its 200-plus stores in Asia.

[Via Slashphone]

[Taylor Yes Taylor Posted Oct 3rd 2008 3:16PM]

Close the one and only store in London but keep 200 stores in Asia open? Is London SUCH a bad market that closing the ONLY store there is better than closing a few in Asia?
-Taylor

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 4th 2008 3:13AM]

The London store is managed by Carphone Warehouse rather than SE and so is somewhat expensive. The location (High Street Kensington) is fine in boom times but will be suffering now. Every time time I have been it has more staff than customers.

The concept of a boutique for phones in a market such as the UK is difficult, the Nokia store in Regents Street whilst great for advice and stock has far fewer customers than the Apple store opposite. I guess we in the UK prefer to get ripped off by the likes of CPW and Phones 4 U.