Mashable: Google planned to open its first-ever public store at its European headquarters in Dublin, if you believed a rumor reported by Bloomberg. But according to a company spokesperson, no plans are definite right now.
A Google planning application for an expansion of its Dublin office indicated plans for an employee swimming pool, a restaurant and a store. But Google says the company doesn’t have plans to get into the retail business right now.
“We already have an online store selling things like Google T-shirts and pens,” a Google spokesperson told Mashable. “We have the option of a small space doing the same in our Dublin office, but we’ve not made any decisions. It’s simply a planning application.”
It’s standard planning protocol to have the option of store space built into a new location, but that doesn’t mean the company will use it for that purpose. The planning application showed 1,323 square feet that could be used to open a store.
The planning application for the largest Google office outside of the U.S. was approved by the Dublin City Council last month. The office will hold more than 3,000 employees once the new building opens.
Google recently tested a store-within-a-store concept inside electronics retailer Currys and PC World in London to promote the sale of Google Chromebooks.