Google opening first permanent physical retail store in New York City

Posted:
in General Discussion edited May 2021
A brand new, first-of-its-kind Google store will be located on the company's existing campus in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.

Image Credit: Google
Image Credit: Google


The store will serve as a way for customers to purchase products made by Google, including Pixel phones, Nest products, Fitbit devices, Pixelbooks, and more. The store will also allow customers to experience products and services before purchasing them.

Google states that they'll also have experts available to help with troubleshooting software, repairing hardware, and offering advice to new and seasoned customers alike.

The company also addresses the issue of opening a store during the aftermath of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Customers will be required to wear masks and sanitize their hands upon entering, and the store staff will limit the amount customers who can enter the store at one time. Customers will also be able to order online and pick up items at the store, reducing the time they need to spend at the location.




While there's no hard date set for the storefront to open, Google states that it will happen in summer 2021. The store will be located on the corner of 15th Street and 9th Avenue.

Apple recently celebrated 20 years of physical retail stores. The first stores, Apple Tysons Corner and Apple Glendale Galleria, opened on May 19, 2001, in Virginia and California, respectively.

Microsoft, on the other hand, recently shuttered all of its physical retail stores in favor of moving to a fully online retail experience.

Apple may be planning on expanding its existing 11 Penn Plaza office, also located in New York City. The company is said to be negotiating with its landlords to add an additional 60,000 square feet to its existing 220,000 square feet of office space.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    omasouomasou Posts: 564member
    :facepalm: Oh, this is a failure waiting to happen.

    Hope they open locally in the vacant MS Stores real estate, that way, like the MS Store, I can laugh at the lack of customers every time I visit the Apple store that MS opened next to.




    edited May 2021 williamlondonsconosciutojeffharriswatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 14
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    How hard is it to create something ORIGINAL?

    Blows my mind that I, as a normal civilian can create original thought but the entire tech industry just follows Apple. 
    dk49williamlondonsconosciutojeffharrisyojimbo007hcrefugee
  • Reply 3 of 14
    ravnorodomravnorodom Posts: 692member
    Permanently… LOL. Give it 5 years?
    sconosciutoBeatsdebusohwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 14
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    There is zero excitement within the general public about Google hardware products. Zero. Google has done a terrible job building up and sustainable a quality hardware ecosystem. You never know what they might kill off so you don’t bother investing in any of their stuff. Their ONLY successful hardware is the ultra cheap stuff, like chrome cast and Google mini that one can buy for $30. They don’t know how to find success any other way. 
    sdw2001Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 14
    jeffharrisjeffharris Posts: 777member
    WHY?

    They'll have a Data Bar where customer information is served.
    Neat or on the rocks… like the google store concept.
    edited May 2021 Beatsauxioyojimbo007watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 14
    darkpawdarkpaw Posts: 212member
    Customers will be required to wear masks and sanitize their hands upon entering, and the store staff will limit the amount [of] customers who can enter the store at one time.
    Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem.
    jeffharrisBeatshcrefugeedebusohmuthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 14
    rotateleftbyterotateleftbyte Posts: 1,630member
    Like the MS stores (multiple attempts), this will be a white elephant. The success will be the millions that Alphabet can write off against Tax due to the losses they encounter on the store. The more they lose, the better for them. Why? I'm sure that there are bonuses to be earned by their VP's for getting the US Government to pay them rather than the other way around. After all, if Amazon can get away with paying zero in corporate taxes then why not them? Cynical? Yes.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 14
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    darkpaw said:
    Customers will be required to wear masks and sanitize their hands upon entering, and the store staff will limit the amount [of] customers who can enter the store at one time.
    Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem.

    That will be their excuse. “Oh no, we only let 2 customers in at a time!”


    Like the MS stores (multiple attempts), this will be a white elephant. The success will be the millions that Alphabet can write off against Tax due to the losses they encounter on the store. The more they lose, the better for them. Why? I'm sure that there are bonuses to be earned by their VP's for getting the US Government to pay them rather than the other way around. After all, if Amazon can get away with paying zero in corporate taxes then why not them? Cynical? Yes.

    Let’s be rational here. Will the Goog Store have more or less appeal than Microsoft?

    Microsoft has Windows and Xbox.
    Google has Android and... Google.com?

    I’m kinda thinking Microsoft had a better shot than Google will have.
    jeffharrisdebusohwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 14
    "Yes, everything that our company and its subsidiaries make can be found in this store" the android said, "but you do have to search for them."
    fred1Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 14
    mobirdmobird Posts: 752member
    I hope that they signed a lease on a short-term basis and maybe some form of "bail-out" clause, say something to the effect of lack of sales...
    Beatsdebusohwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 14
    Beats said:
    How hard is it to create something ORIGINAL?

    Blows my mind that I, as a normal civilian can create original thought but the entire tech industry just follows Apple. 
    What's funny is that even the Google store drawing is reminiscent of the 1990's Apple eWorld drawings:


    Beatsjeffharriswatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 14
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    hcrefugee said:
    Beats said:
    How hard is it to create something ORIGINAL?

    Blows my mind that I, as a normal civilian can create original thought but the entire tech industry just follows Apple. 
    What's funny is that even the Google store drawing is reminiscent of the 1990's Apple eWorld drawings:



    Samsung does this crap too!

    And remember iGoogle? LOL
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 14
    fotoformatfotoformat Posts: 302member
    mobird said:
    I hope that they signed a lease on a short-term basis and maybe some form of "bail-out" clause, say something to the effect of lack of sales...
    The store front title says it all... "Terminal"... as in "the end".
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 14
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,285member
    This is their second attempt…when they launched Google Glass they had pop up stores using shipping containers.  It was a disaster since they skirted local ordinances and they ended up in a big PR disaster.  At least that is what I remembered.  Maybe GatorGuy can clarify.  It was littering at an industrial scale.
    watto_cobra
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