Google set to open first shop in Dublin

Google is set to open its first standalone retail shop at its European headquarters in Dublin.

The Google Store would sell unspecified Google merchandise, the company’s Irish unit stated in a planning application.

Located in the Montevetro office block on Barrow St, the store would have about 123sq m of space including an added mezzanine floor designed to draw attention from passersby.

Retail may be a new front in Google’s competition with Apple, whose 361 stores have fuelled sales of iPods, iPhones and iPad tablet computers. Google, the world’s biggest maker of smartphone operating software, is in the process of buying handset maker Motorola Mobility Holdings for $12.5bn (€9.5bn) to help it compete with Apple’s phones and Microsoft’s mobile software.

“While we do have the option to open retail space, we are examining all potential uses,” the company said yesterday. “No final decision has been taken.”

Google opened a store inside a London branch of Currys and PC World, as a trial for selling laptops running its Chromebook operating system.

The company also offers merchandise online, featuring merchandise such as baby bibs and notebooks with the Google logo.

The planning application, prepared by consultants John Spain Associates for Google Ireland, was approved by Dublin City Council on Jan 23. The document also describes a staff swimming pool in an area designed for use as a restaurant.

Google’s Dublin office is its largest location outside of the US, according to the filing. It purchased the Montevetro site in April for about €100m from Real Estate Opportunities.

Google will have more than 3,000 employees in the Dublin area after it expands into the building and refurbishes its existing headquarters across the street, according to the document.