Android Exec Shoots Down Rumors of Stand Alone Google Stores
An Android executive shot down the recent rumors which said that Google would be opening stand alone retail locations in the near future.
Andy Rubin, the head of Google's Android business, stated in the middle of a news conference during Mobile World Congress that Google has no plans to open its own stores.
"Google has no plans and we have nothing to announce," he said regarding the matter. "A few years ago, consumers needed to touch and feel devices, but these days they can often get the information they need to make a purchase decision by talking to friends and reading reviews. They don't have to go in the store and feel it anymore."
9to5 Google reported last week that a reliable source confirmed Google's plans to open these stores and that the company wants to have them open for the holiday season in major metropolitan areas.
The source also stated that Google hopes that these new stores will help it to get the new Google Nexus, Chrome, and other upcoming products into the hands of prospective customers. The company wants to give these customers a hands-on experience with these products in order to entice them to purchase them.
The closest Google has come to having a retail location is its small Chrome pop-up stores that are in hundreds of Best Buys in the U.S, and in 50 PCWorld/Dixon's stores in the U.K.
These pop-up stores have employees that are specifically trained to demonstrate the value of Chromebooks and can also answer any questions that people have before they purchase one. These employees are not there to hit huge sale targets, but to educate and inform people about the line of products. The transactions are handled by the store in which the pop-ups are located in, not the Chrome station.
