According to the Chicago Tribune and Crain's Chicago Business, Google is set to reveal a first permanent brick-and-mortar store-- a location in Chicago's Fulton Market district, just a few blocks away from the Google Midwest HQ.
The two sources state the company is finalising a lease on a 1300 square-metre property in the district. Formerly a meatpacking district, Fulton Market is part of the Chicago West Loop and has housed Google Midwest since 2015. The office currently employs 900 employees at the location, and Crain's Chicago Business reports Google plans to expand it by as much as 9290 square-metres in the near future.
The search giant has previously experimented with retail, if through pop-up and "store within stores" locations in the US and UK. Back in 2016 it spent millions to renovate a 460-square metre retail space in New York's glitzy SoHo district, but it abandoned such plans in favour of renting it out for no less than $2.25 million annually.
Brick-and-mortar retail is becoming increasingly important in the strategy of big companies-- Apple remains, of course, the pioneer in the space with its iconic Apple Stores, while Microsoft is opening own retail stores across the US. One cannot forget Amazon, who after making a fortune through online retail now owns Whole Foods. As such it comes to no surprise Google wants an own space in which to display its growing product offering.
Go Google to Open First Store in Chicago (The Chicago Tribune)