Google will open its first-ever permanent retail store in New York City in coming weeks, a bet that a physical retail presence can help showcase and sell its products as the pandemic eases.
The store, to be located in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, will open this summer and sell items such as Google’s Pixel phones, Nest smart thermostats and Fitbit wearable devices, the company said Thursday in a blog post. The store will also host workshops on using Google products and provide repair and troubleshooting services.
The store will be part of Google’s existing campus in the neighborhood. In 2018, Google bought the 1.2-million-square-foot Chelsea Market building for more than $2 billion, across the street from its even larger office building at 111 Eighth Ave.
“Google has been in New York for the last 20 years, and we view the store as a natural extension of our longtime commitment to the city,” Jason Rosenthal, the company’s vice president of direct channels and membership, said in the blog post.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google has temporarily run pop-up stores in New York and Chicago in the past, but the Chelsea site would be its first permanent location for shoppers. New York City is Google’s second-biggest employee base after its global headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
