Google Glass Rumors: Will Best Buy Lease Out 6,000 Square Feet Of Store Space To Sell Smart Glasses?

Rumors that Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is planning to open retail stores dedicated to Google Glass have been kicking around since May, but new details both confirm and deny those rumors. Google will not be opening stand-alone stores like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), but it will be renting out space within Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) stores that will be used solely for Glass.

Not just a small area, either. Google will rent 6,000 square feet of Best Buy real estate to promote Glass, according Robert Scoble, a well-known Google advocate.

Nothing is official yet (Scoble repeated that it’s just a rumor), but the move certainly makes sense for Best Buy. The tech retailer has suffered declining revenue and profits in recent years. Best Buy has closed many of its stores, and announced two years ago that it would lease out as much space as possible to cut back costs.

But 6,000 square feet is an awful lot of space for such a small device. With as much buzz as Glass has already generated, it doesn’t seem like it really needs to get involved in the brick-and-mortar business. On the flip side, maybe it will help promote Google Glass to iPhone levels of popularity.