Bose to close all US stores, including in Short Hills.

Byline: Gabrielle Saulsbery

Luxury audio equipment chain Bose will close 119 retail stores in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia, including its sole New Jersey location at The Mall at Short Hills.

Approximately 130 stores in Greater China and the United Arab Emirates will remain open, in addition to stores in India, Southeast Asia and South Korea.

Bose first U.S. store opened in 1993 to provide demonstrations on its music and home theater systems. As the industry has changed, Bose products are increasingly purchased online.

"Originally, our retail stores gave people a way to experience, test, and talk to us about multi-component, CD and DVD-based home entertainment systems," said Colette Burke, vice president of Global Sales, Bose Corp., in a statement. "At the time, it was a radical idea, but we focused on what our customers needed, and where they needed it and we're doing the same thing now.

"It's...