Google May Open a Retail Store in NYC

Google is all about search. And right now, it may be searching for a place to open its first brick-and-mortar retail store in the U.S.

Crain's New York reported this week that the tech giant is close to signing a lease for an 8,000-square-foot space in New York City's upscale SoHo area; however, the real-estate firm that controls the space told The Wall Street Journal the claim is "absolutely false."

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Related: Here Comes Another Smartwatch. This One's From Google.

While Google's plans are not yet clear, Faith Hope Consolo, a chairman at Prudential Douglas Elliman, has spoken with several outlets about the company's interest in in setting up shop in the city.

"They’ve been talking to everybody,” Consolo told the Journal.

Chromebooks, Android devices, Google Glass and any other new hardware products would ostensibly be sold in the prospective storefront.

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Opening a retail shop in the U.S. would be a first for Google, though the company already has a small brick-and-mortar footprint overseas. In 2011, an Android store opened in Melbourne, Australia, and the company's Chromebook laptops have been sold in storefronts across Europe in England, Germany and Spain. 

Apple, on the other hand, has more than 420 retail stores across the world, and plans to open 30 new stores this year.  

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