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Tag: stores

  • Google’s NYC Retail Store Is Reportedly Dead

    Google’s NYC Retail Store Is Reportedly Dead

    Google is not going through with its New York City retail store, which would’ve been the first of its kind.

    The company is currently looking to sublease the 5.442 square-foot location it leased last year. According to Crain’s, Google want’s $2.25 million a year.

    The store would’ve allowed customers to browse and purchase a wide array of Google products and other products featuring Android and Chrome OS. But it looks as if Google’s given up on that concept, at least for now.

    But not before they put a decent amount of money into it

    From Crain’s:

    The decision to abandon its retail store came after the Internet giant spent $6 million renovating the 131 Greene St. location. The outpost was supposed to be one of Google’s first stand-alone stores in the U.S., putting it in direct competition with Apple, which has a host of brick-and-mortar shops that showcase and sell its products in the city, as well as other tech firms with a retail presence. Just last week, Microsoft opened its flagship store on Fifth Avenue.

    Earlier this year, Google opened up a branded “shop within a shop” – a Google Shop inside Currys PC World in London. But this New York store would’ve been the company’s first standalone retail location.

    In other brick-and-mortar news, Amazon just opened up its first ever physical bookstore. It sits in Seattle’s University Village. Amazon’s physical bookstore will still have ties to its online store, as many of the selections will be based on online reviews. If it’s popular online, Amazon will sell it at Amazon Books.

  • Amazon Now Has a Store Focusing on STEM Toys

    Amazon Now Has a Store Focusing on STEM Toys

    Amazon wants your kids to grow up knowing more about the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. The online retailer has just launched a dedicated marketplace for STEM toys for kids of all ages.

    “STEM toys encourage kids to develop skills in the core disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math,” says Amazon on its new page. “We chose these toys because they have clear goals and encourage kids to learn STEM skill while having fun.”

    Some featured products include LEGO sets, Roominate systems, modular robotics kits, light circuit kits, LightUp Edison kits, a Solar System planetarium, and remote control machines. On the page, you can filter toys by age (Preschool, 5-7 year, 8-11 years, and 12+ years) or by Amazon’s own editor picks.

    Of course, promoting STEM values is a noble cause, but Amazon isn’t just doing this for the sake of young minds. According to TechCrunch, “the retailer notes that not only are STEM toys a ‘hot trend’ in education, but they were also the second-most visited section and the second highest in terms of sales volume on Amazon’s 2014 Holiday.”

    STEM is hot right now, in other words.

    In other Amazon-specific storefront news, the company just launched a dedicated destination for Shark Tank stuff and other “up-and-coming products” called Amazon Exclusives.

  • Blockbuster Pushes Up Daisies!

    One day you’re in; the next day you’re out. Ladies and gentlemen, as it comes to absolutely nobody’s surprise, Blockbuster is out!

    It has been determined that Blockbuster will be closing its remaining 300 locations by the start of 2014. According to the recent confessions of Blockbuster’s parent company DISH Network, Blockbuster’s DVD-by-mail service will also be discontinued.

    Due to the rising popularity of movie-streaming brands like Netflix, customers were happy to divorce Blockbuster and all other walk-in movie rental stores alike.

    It is all too evident that the old, strenuous way of walking into a video store and filtering through the maze of VHS and DVD boxes has become too much work.

    No more squinting to read the title of the movie on the side of its cover. No more pulling the video off the shelf only to realize that it is the wrong damn movie, and now you have to try to put it back after knocking over all the other videos like dominoes. That old movie-hunting workout is no more.

    America is technologically spoiled, and the folks at DISH Network are finally accepting the new reality. Joseph Clayton, the CEO of DISH, revealed on Wednesday that the decisions made toward shutting down the physical locations of Blockbuster were difficult to render:

    “This is not an easy decision, yet customer demand is moving to digital distribution of video entertainment.”

    But while Dish Network is most certainly grateful for the public’s condolences, the company is trying hard as Hell to remain strong, as Joseph Clayton reported optimistically about the financially ill video chain during the funera—um, in a press release.

    “Despite our closing of the physical distribution elements of the business, we continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand, and we expect to leverage that brand as we continue to expand our digital offerings.”

    Image via Wikimeida Commons

    Other Sources via youtube.com, abc

  • Epic Opens an Online Store Just in Time For Christmas

    Epic Opens an Online Store Just in Time For Christmas

    Epic Games, the creators of the Gears of War series and the Unreal game engine, today launched an online store to sell merchandise related to its games and brands. The items being sold in the Epic store are exclusive, and can’t be found in other stores.

    We’re excited to launch Epic’s official store and provide our loyal fans apparel and merchandise that they can’t find anywhere else,” said Kendall Boyd, Epic’s director of marketing for worldwide studios. “Our hope is to grow our brand via channels such as the Epic Store and celebrate all of our terrific intellectual properties with the community.”

    Unfortunately, the Epic store is rather sparse at this point. Most of the merchandise is Gears of War-related, though there are a couple of Infinity Blade t-shirts, a Bulletstorm t-shirt, and an “Ultrakill” Unreal Tournament t-shirt. There is also a Jazz Jackrabbit t-shirt for old-school gamers or hipsters, and an Impossible Studios t-shirt for those who are excited by Epic’s newly-created development studio, crafted from the remnants of Big Huge Games.

    In a statement today, Epic promised its new store will be “continually upgraded and expanded” and that they have “surprises planned for fans in the coming weeks or months.” Here’s hoping those surprises include Shadow Complex pint glasses, or Unreal Tournament LEGO sets.