Google opens Chrome Zone pop-up in London

New York --In a partnership with the U.K.-based retailer PC World, Google has opened its first-ever physical retail space, a pop-up shop in London. It will be open for three months.

The small, 285-sq.-ft. shop, called Chrome Zone, is devoted to Samsung’s ultra-portable Chrome OS-powered Chromebook computer and related accessories. The space has a high-tech look and is decked out in Google’s signature colors.

"The Chrome Zone is designed to be as open, colourful and user-friendly as possible, and there are seating areas for shoppers to enable them to try out Chromebooks in comfort,” Google said in a statement.

A second pop-up store will open a shopping center in Essex on October 7 and more pilot shops are planned around the world in the coming months, according to the London Evening Standard.

"This is a new channel for us and it's still very, very early days. It's something Google is going to play with and see where it leads,” said Arvind Desikan, head of consumer marketing at Google UK, said in the report.