Google opens London Chromebook retail store

Search giant to get physical around the world.

Google opened its first Chromezone retail store in London on Friday, which could be the beginning of a series of Chromebook stores worldwide.

Unlike its seasoned retail rival, Apple, Google has not opted for a standalone store. Rather, the gateway to the Chromebook retail experience is situated within British computer retailer PC World on Tottenham Court Road, an area known for its density of computer stores. 

The search giant’s floor space was about 25 square metres, according to the London Evening Standard. 

That was about one percent of the floor space of Apple’s 2,600 square metre Regent Street behemoth.

Google’s head of consumer marketing Arvind Desikan said it was still “very, very early days” and that it was something Google would “play with and see where it leads”. 

A second “pilot” store would open in Essex in October within the month with more planned across the globe, according to the report.

The retail space would be dedicated to selling Google's Samsung-made Chromebook Series 5, which had previously only been available for purchase online through Amazon UK and PC World from £349 (A$562). 

An Acer-built Chromebook was expected to launch soon in Britain.

Google's move into retail followed the launch of Microsoft's ninth store in the United States earlier this year, in a mall already occupied by Apple.