The retailing sector has attracted a lot of non-retailers over the past few years, the most successful being Apple Inc. with its Apple Stores (click here for an earlier post). Now, it looks like Google is preparing to join Microsoft as the latest high-tech companies to open retailers.

As Amir Efrati writes for the Wall Street Journal: “Google Inc. has been developing plans to launch retail stores in the U.S., said people familiar with the matter, in another sign the company is studying Apple Inc.’s playbook for building a consumer-electronics brand. The stores would likely sell Google-branded hardware, these people said. But it isn’t clear when or where any stores would open, and one of the people said the Internet giant might not move forward with the plan this year. Apple’s stores have been a big factor in the success of the company’s iPhones and iPads, and Microsoft Corp. has also opened its own retail outlets. Inside Google, the idea of opening retail stores has long been debated as the company has become a major player in mobile devices, said people familiar with the discussions. Such a move may represent a change of heart in the two years since Google co-founder Larry Page became the company’s chief executive. Following Google’s short-lived attempt in 2010 to bypass brick-and-mortar stores to sell the Nexus One smartphone via its website, Mr. Page didn’t express much interest in opening retail stores whenever the possibility was discussed, said a person with knowledge of the matter. Yet, Google’s expansion beyond Web services and software into mobile hardware makes a move into retail seem more logical.”

Click the image for a WSJ video on Google retailing.

Photo by Bloomberg News