Google sure isn’t giving up on its Chromebook initiative, even though it’s not clear that the company’s Chrome OS-based laptops are selling all that well. Today, Google announced that it’s expanding its brick-and-mortar retail efforts for Chromebooks through partnerships with Walmart and Staples.
Over 1,500 Staples will feature them starting this weekend and about 2,800 Walmart stores will carry Chromebooks later this summer. In total, Google says, this will triple the number of stores that carry its Chromebooks and bring the total number to 6,600 stores around the world.
Walmart, it seems, will only make the cheapest Chromebook — the $199 Acer Chromebook — available on its shelves, though. Staples will feature “a mix of Chromebooks from Acer, HP and Samsung” and will also make them available online. The more expensive Pixel, Google’s high-end Chromebook, won’t be available at any of these retailers, it seems.
The company also announced that select Office Depot, Office Max, Fry’s and Tiger Direct locations will begin selling Chromebooks in the “coming months.” Previously, only Amazon and Best Buy carried Google’s laptops.
Google is also expanding the availability of Chromebooks internationally. In the U.K., for example, 116 Tesco stores are now selling Chromebooks; in the Netherlands, Mediamarkt and Saturn will carry them and France’s FNAC stores will also get Chromebook displays. Google is also adding partners in Australia (JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman) and Sweden (Elgiganten).
September 7, 1998
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Read the original here: Google Will Soon Start Selling Chromebooks At Walmart And Staples, Other Retailers Coming Soon
Google today announced an expansion of Chromebook availability worldwide, tripling the number of stores to 6,600. In addition to Best Buy, Amazon.com, and Dixons in the UK, the company has added at least 13 more retailers around the globe, with more to come.
The biggest additions are undoubtedly Walmart, which will be kicking off the partnership by offering the newest Acer Chromebook ($199), in approximately 2,800 stores across the US, and Staples, which will bring a mix of Chromebooks from Acer, HP, and Samsung to every store in the US (more than 1,500 in total). Additional US stores that will be getting Chromebooks in the coming months include select Office Depot, Office Max, as well as regional chains Fry’s and TigerDirect.
Outside of the US, in the 10 other markets worldwide where Chromebooks are currently sold, Google is focusing quite a bit on Europe. The company is expanding availability to 116 Tesco stores in the UK, as well as all Mediamarket and Saturn stores in the Netherlands, FNAC stores in France, and Elgiganten stores in Sweden. In Australia, all JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman stores will soon carry Chromebooks for their customers as well.
Again, Google hints that this is just one part of a broader retail push. “With our partners, we’re working hard to bring Chromebooks to even more countries later this year,” Google says.
Google is essentially trying to build momentum for Chrome OS, which hasn’t managed to sway many consumers away from the likes of more traditional operating systems nor mobile platforms. Having a big presence in physical stores will surely help Chromebooks sell, though it’s difficult to say if it will be enough to convince users to switch away from the likes of Windows and even Android.
See also – Google unveils 12.85″ touch-screen Chromebook Pixel with a 2560×1700 display, starting today at $1,299 and Google and DonorsChoose.org offer schools Samsung Series 5 Chromebooks for $99 each
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