Google Eyes Apple Stores and Considers Retail

Bloomberg Businessweek reports:

As malls close, big-box stores try to shrink, and the overall prospects of physical retail range from stagnant to apocalyptic, one sector of the market is enjoying an unlikely growth spurt: stores opened by the big technology companies. Apple has spawned about 400 Apple (APPL) Stores in the last decade, Microsoft (MSFT) is opening new locations, and now—according to tech blog and news reports—Google (GOOG) is developing plans to open showrooms in the U.S. to highlight its devices running the Android and Chrome operating systems.