Google Readies for Flagship Store: Reports

Google (Mountain View, Calif.) is near finalizing its lease for a permanent 14,000-square-foot site in Chicago’s Fulton Market district, about two blocks south of its Midwest headquarters in the neighborhood. While the tech giant has not yet confirmed the rumors, the Chicago Tribune and others have reported that the lease is intended for retail use.

In recent years, Google’s headquarter entry has transformed the Fulton Market neighborhood from its gritty past into a trendy area, with retailers Lululemon and Anthropologie entering the market, along with new hotels. It’s being speculated that the addition of a flagship Google store in the area could make it a retail destination and that other retailers would flock to the neighborhood as a result, boosting Chicago's overall retail appeal.

Google has previously opened pop-up shops and shop-in-shops, but this would be its first standalone flagship store. Its growing list of products – from smartphones, tablets and Chromebooks to smarthome devices like Google Home, connected thermostats and security systems – represents a possible need for the brand to solidify its spot as not just a tech innovator, but as a retailer in its own right.