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Tag: Google Retail Stores

  • Google Shuts Down Notion That It Will Open Retail Stores, Source Of Rumor Sticks To Story

    Google Shuts Down Notion That It Will Open Retail Stores, Source Of Rumor Sticks To Story

    At Mobile World Congress, Andy Rubin, SVP of Mobile and Digital Content at Google (and co-founder of Android), shut down rumors that Google will be opening up retail stores.

    Last week, 9to5Google put out a report indicating that Google would be opening its own retail stores by the end of the year. The report cited “an extremely reliable source”. According to Rubin, however, Google has no need to open stores, despite other indications that Google Glass will be widely available by the year’s end.

    Ina Fried at All Things D shares some words from him:

    “They don’t have to go in the store and feel it anymore,” Rubin said, during a roundtable with reporters on Tuesday. Plus, he said, the Google hardware effort is still in its infancy. “For Nexus, I don’t think the program is far enough along to think about the necessity of having these things in a retail store.”

    As for whether Google as a whole might nonetheless be considering retail stores. “Google has no plans and we have nothing to announce,” he said.

    Okay, the “nothing to announce” part is pretty commonplace regardless of whether or not the company actually has something in the works. The “Google has no plans” part seems a little bit more definitive.

    Still, it doesn’t sound like the idea is totally ruled out for the future. Perhaps 9to5Google’s “extremely reliable source” is just off on the timeframe.

    Despite Rubin’s comments, Google clearly has a number of items it could easily get into a retail store, and the company already has a presence in some Best Buys and PCWorld/Dixon’s stores.

    Plus, as Google Retail Industry Director Todd Pollak recently said, “The lines between online and offline shopping experiences are blurring.”

    Update: 9to5Google’s Seth Weintraub now has this to say:

    I reported last week that Google had plans to open retail stores within the year, which according to a quick ping of that same source, is still on. When asked about Rubin’s comments, I was told that Rubin wasn’t being forthcoming or AllThingsD misquoted him.

    …

    It should be noted that the retail program is being born (we’re told) out of Google’s (X) labs under Sergey Brin and not out of the Android group and the two groups aren’t always in full cooperation

    The rumor continues…

  • Google Retail Stores On The Way?

    Google Retail Stores On The Way?

    Google is planning on opening up retail stores in major metropolitan areas by the end of the year, according to a report from 9to5Google.

    Seth Weintraub, who notes that Google already has a retail presence in a number of Best Buys and PCWorld/Dixon’s stores, reports (citing a “reliable source”) that Google is in the process of building stand alone retail stores, and that these would be places where Google could not only sell its Nexus devices (and possibly apparel), but push its Chrome operating system, and get Google Glass into consumers’ hands.

    Google Glass, while it may seem like a novelty, could actually prove to be a very important product for Google, and if this is one of Google’s main motivating factors for opening a chain or retail stores, that shows how important Google really does consider it.

    Google was recently granted a patent, which seems to indicate the company is looking to make your actual life searchable, and Glass could play a significant role in it being able to do so. While we’re looking a ways out in the future, so may contact lenses based on similar functionality. If Google is also able to refine Glass from the fashion standpoint, one can easily imagine more merchandise to fill a store.

    Google is also said to be thinking about marketing a smart watch, so that’s yet another potential device for Google to place on the shelves.

    And who knows what else Google may have on the horizon?

    It will be interesting to see what kind of presence (if any) Google gives motorola devices in these stores, assuming they actually do open. Google indicated that it would not give Motorola special treatment among device manufacturers, when it announced the acquisition.

    As Google gets further into the hardware business, a retail store is a no brainer, particularly in light of what is already available from competitors. Apple has over 400 retail stores in 14 countries.

    We’ve reached out to Google for comment, and will update accordingly.

    Would you shop at a Google store?