Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet
IN PHOTO: Showing the display of Sony Xperia Tablet. Rituparna Sengupta

Sony will now give less than a month’s time to its customers to purchase smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, televisions, cameras and home theatre equipment from its online store. The company has announced that it will shut down its online store on Aug. 28, according to reports.

According to Tech Times, the online store of Sony will officially shut down at 4 p.m. Eastern Time or 1 p.m. Pacific Time on the said date. Sony announced this decision through an email it sent to all Sony Store customers. However, the reason behind closing the online store still remains unknown. Meanwhile, Sony also explained that it will soon come up with a “new online product showcase and more ways to shop.”

Sony’s Xperia smartphones, which are known for being feature rich, have not been successful enough to attract a lot of buyers in the US. One of the reasons affecting the sales of the product could be the company’s preference for selling its smartphones directly to customers rather than going through the wireless carriers as middlemen.

After Sony announced the sale of its Vaio computer business, it was speculated that the company might sell its mobile division. However, Sony Mobile Chief Hiroki Totoki had cleared the confusion last month, saying that the company will “never sell or exit” its mobile division. In an interview with Arabian Business, Totoki explained that the company is trying to make its smartphone business work. He said to the publication, “We are trying to decrease our costs by 30 percent to the end of 2016, and reduce our headcount by 20 per cent.”

According to Totoki, Sony has its plan for 2015 and they are working towards executing it. Totoki also explained that the company will try to transform its business by the end of this year and will hopefully witness an improved financial performance in 2016.

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