The corporate previously referred to as Fb has been discussing the potential for opening retail shops means earlier than it rebranded itself as Meta, in response to The New York Times. Apparently, discussions about opening brick-and-mortar retailers began final yr, although nothing has been finalized, and the mission might nonetheless find yourself being scrapped. If Meta does open bodily shops, nonetheless, they are going to reportedly be extra like expertise shops introducing individuals to gadgets developed by its Actuality Labs division reasonably than outright retail retailers.
These gadgets embrace the Oculus Quest (quickly to be Meta Quest) digital actuality headsets and the Portal devices, which had been designed primarily for video calling. The shops might additionally showcase the augmented reality smart glasses referred to as Tales that Fb developed with Ray-Ban. Based mostly on the paperwork The Occasions noticed, Meta’s aim is to spark “curiosity” and “closeness” with its shops, in addition to present clients with a welcoming environment the place they will have a “judgment free journey” whereas experimenting with headsets.
Those self same paperwork present that Meta envisions retailers with a contemporary, minimalist aesthetic and delicate branding placement. The corporate thought-about numerous attainable names, similar to Fb Hub, Fb Commons, Fb Improvements, Fb Actuality Retailer and From Fb. It will definitely settled on Fb Retailer, however that can principally seemingly change now that the corporate has been renamed.
If Meta does push by way of with this plan, its first retail/expertise retailer can be situated in Burlingame, California, the place there’s a Actuality Labs workplace. The Occasions says the mission might ultimately span the world, although, with places in varied international locations and areas.
Editor’s be aware: This text initially appeared on Engadget.
