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Google Opens First Retail Outlet In London

Posted by Soulskill on from the but-it's-still-in-beta dept.

theodp writes "Google is following in the footsteps of Apple and Microsoft. The London Evening Standard reports that the world's first 'Google Store' has opened in a PC World on London's gadget street, Tottenham Court Road. Officially known as 'the Chromezone,' the 285sq. ft. pop-up 'shop within a shop,' which only sells Google's Chromebook laptop and a few accessories such as headphones, will run for three months up to Christmas. But if the low-key experiment is successful, Google could follow Apple in opening permanent stores around the world. 'It is our first foray into physical retail,' said Google's Arvind Desikan. 'This is a new channel for us and it's still very, very early days. It's something Google is going to play with and see where it leads.'"

7 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. What are they going to sell? by Pikoro · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Just wondering what physical item google has for sale? RFID kits so you can outfit every item in your home and search it's location in your home via google search?

    where are my keys?

    I'm feeling lucky

    --
    "Freedom in the USA is not the ability to do what you want. It is the ability to stop others from doing what THEY want"
  2. Me too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ah, it's the me-too company again.

    AltaVista: we do search!
    Google: me too!

    Hotmail: we do online mail
    Google: me too!

    Nokia: We do smartphones
    Apple: we do too, and added touch and apps
    Google: me too! and we added nothing.

    Sun: We do Java
    Google: Me too! Allegedly.

    Everyone: We do instant messaging
    Google: Me too!

    Facebook: We do social
    Google: Me too!

    Sony/Apple: We do brand-specific shops
    MS & now Google: me too!

    Bah. I will never understand the love geeks give to this copycat advertising company.

    1. Re:Me too! by jkcity · · Score: 1, Insightful

      hmmm iphone was not the first touch screen phone you can get and they never invented apps there was apps tores onother phones before it they just tended to be expensive and not have alot on them.

    2. Re:Me too! by Phurge · · Score: 4, Insightful

      google: "me too - except we do it BETTER"

      --
      I'll see your hokum and raise you a boondoggle.
  3. It is not a store. We are not Google's customers. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It is funny to have a store for the people that are not the customers. We are google's product, the advertisers and the carriers are the customers.

    --ditkin

  4. Apple had to open their own stores. by jcr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When Apple decided to build their own retail operation, they had a problem to solve. Existing retailers were doing a very poor job of presenting their products. I remember a time where if you saw a Mac at all at a store that sold PCs, it was usually missing a few keys from the keyboard, and if it was powered up, it was flashing the "sad mac" icon. There were a handful of Mac-only resellers who did a better job of it, but there certainly weren't enough of them. Retail was crucial to Apple's survival.

    For an outfit like Google or Microsoft, retail is just something they think they should do because Apple did it.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  5. Prices do not compare! by jwijnands · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Prices don't translate that easily. A price in American dollars often means the same in euros and only slightly less in pounds. Something our North American /, crowd seems to forget.