Google Opens First Retail Store in London, UK

By Elton Jones, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, October 06, 2011

Google recently launched its first-ever "Chrome Zone" retail store in central London, U.K.

The London Evening Standard broke the news: “The world’s first "Google store" opened not in California but in the less glamorous setting of PC World in Tottenham Court Road at 9 a.m. local-time.”

The "Chrome Zone" lets customers get a hold of laptops and other mobile devices, along with sampling cloud services and computer applications. For example, store employees will walk consumers through a hands-on cloud computing demo on "Google Chromebook."

The "Chrome Zone" stands at 285 sq. ft. and is described as a "shop within a shop." Currently, the retail store only sells Google’s "Chromebook" laptops and a few accessories such as headphones. The store's initial run will go for about three months.

The London Evening News reported on the store's future plans as well: “A second pop-up store will open at Lakeside shopping centre in Essex on Oct. 7 and more pilot shops are planned around the world in the coming months. A spokeswoman for the store told the news station that ‘We’ve put a lot of effort into making it feel welcoming, homely and, dare I say it, Googley.’”

The San Francisco Chronicle, which is closer in proximity to Google's worldwide headquarters, also reported on the London opening of the "Chrome Zone." The media outlet's article stated that this store is more of a retail experiment for Google.

Laura Thompson, Product Marketing Manager for Google, had this to say about the store's main premise: "Many things in life, like football and rock music, are best experienced in person. Chromebooks are no exception." Google's latest initiatives to further their business in European markets is said to be tied to the store's opening in Britain's "Tech City."

The opening of the store is expected to be a part of Google's plan to directly compete with Apple. Google is said to be opening even more stores in the U.K., but no plans are in order for store openings in other major cities yet.