Sky UK Proposes to Close 60 of its 260 Retail Stores

Some 170 jobs could be lost after Sky (Sky Broadband) advised staff that 23% of their less profitable retail outlets across the United Kingdom could be closed. The announcement comes ahead of the planned Sky Mobile launch, which will turn the operator into a quad-play provider.

Admittedly quite a few of Sky’s “stores” are perhaps more akin of promotional pop-up displays than actual shops, although they still serve an important purpose. But these days getting new customers for TV and communications services via the high street is not as easy as it once was and Sky seem to be reflecting that reality, not to mention any external pressures from Brexit and other areas.

A Sky Spokesperson said (The Guardian):

“As we expand our products and services, we want to make sure that our retail stores are in the right place for customers and making the right contribution to our business. We will continue to have a strong retail presence around the country, but we are proposing to close a number of stores.

If the proposals go ahead, we will do everything we can to minimise the number of people affected.”

The timing of the move, which comes just before Christmas, is unlikely to go down well with related employees. At the same time we’re a little surprised to see Sky propose such a move right before the launch of their new Sky Mobile service, which would perhaps benefit from having a more direct retail outlet.